My Favorite Troll
by Knut Case
Summary: When Coraline's parents fly her old friend Robbie all the way from Michigan for her birthday, Wybie realises that he might lose her for good... It doesn't help that Beldam is back in the picture. CxW CxOC T for swearing. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Coraline Jones scowled at herself in the mirror. Her dull grey school uniform was hideous, and uncomfortable and everything that clothing should not be. She turned to examine the back, and made another attempt at pulling her skirt down. It was a tad small, but that was how all the girls at her school wore their skirts.

"Co-ra-line!!" her mother called up the stairs. She tucked her blue hair behind her ear, pulled on her gloves, and, with one last look in the mirror, went downstairs, two at a time. Her father rushed by, kissed her lightly on the head as he passed, and ducked into his study without another word. Her mother was a little warmer, giving her a tight, one-armed hug.

"Morning. Ready for school?" she asked, and Coraline raised an eyebrow.

"…Mum, I'll never be ready to go to school" she said, taking a piece of toast from the plate in her mothers hand and stuffing it in her mouth. Someone knocked lightly on the front door, and Coraline moved towards it. She could recognise that funny head tilt anywhere.

Wybie grinned his lopsided grin at her when she opened the door, and she scooped up her schoolbag from where it sat beside the door.

"Okay, I'm going now, see you later~!" she called, shutting the door behind her. Without a word, the two of them broke into a run, leaping down the stairs and beginning their usual race to the bus stop.

"Haha! I win again Why-Were-You-Born!" she laughed breathlessly as she waited for him to catch up. Four years on from the Beldam Incident, and the two were still thick as thieves. In those few years, Wybie had grown taller, a little taller than she, and had lost his baby fat. She was also taller, and her hair had grown out, at the moment pulled into a high ponytail.

"You…win…every…bloody…day" Wybie panted, and he grinned at her. She was too fast for him. The only way he could win was by cheating. She didn't like it when he cheated.

"I know, I just thought I'd make sure you knew" she sang, not showing any sign that she had just run from the front of her house, all the way to the road. He gave her a light push, and moved closer to the road as the bus approached.

It stopped, and the door opened with a hiss. He climbed on first, and scanned the seating. There were no two seats together, so he sat by his other friend, Lester. He smiled apologetically at her as she passed, while Lester raised a hand in greeting. She waved back, and moved further down the bus, sitting beside a short girl with pretty red hair and freckles.

"Morning Coraline!" she said in her bubbly voice, and Coraline grinned at her.

"Morning Abbey" she replied, sitting down. The bus began to move, and Coraline waved goodbye to Cat, sitting on the top of the 'Pink Palace' sign. His tail flicked in response, then he vanished from sight.

"Please tell me that you didn't forget your part of the assignment" Abbey said, and the blue haired girl opened her bag and pulled out the folder with a grin.

"Don't worry. Me and Wybie worked on them last night, and I made sure I put it in my bag so I wouldn't forget it"

"So what else did you and Wybie get up to last night?" Abbey asked, with a light giggle. Coraline punched her arm.

"Don't be ridiculous. Homework. That's it" she insisted.

Abbey dropped the subject with a little smirk, and they spent the remainder of the trip discussing the upcoming holidays.

xXx

The school day had passed quickly, and Coraline and Wybie waved goodbye to their friends as the bus drove by and walked slowly back towards the hideous faded pink house. Cat was waiting for them, sitting on the fence, and he leapt up onto Wybie's shoulder after brushing past Coraline's legs. They both scratched behind his ears, smiling as he purred contentedly. They continued to walk.

"Well…I'm probably in trouble, because my room is atrocious at the moment, and my grandmother's gonna kill me, so…see you tomorrow, Jonesy"

"Yeah, see ya Wybie" Coraline called, not even bothering to tell him off for using his stupid nickname for her. She jumped up the steps to her home, and scooped up the mail. She flicked through it briefly, pausing to examine an envelope with a rather untidy scrawl.

"I'm home!" she sang out, to no answer, so she lightly tossed the mail on the table and ascended to her bedroom.

She picked up the texta on her desk, and moved over to her calendar. She put a big black X on the date, and counted. It was 4 days until her birthday. She was praying that her parents would by her something good. Like a phone…a phone would be brilliant. Everyone else at school had one.

She settled at her desk, and booted up the old computer she had gotten last year. It was her fathers old one, and all she was able to do to make it look a little more modern was to change the 'I Heart Mulch' wallpaper to a picture of her and Wybie with banana slugs coming out of their noses and ears. It made her laugh every time she saw it, and today was no exception.

After getting bored of waiting for the stupid machine to work properly, she emptied her schoolbag onto her beg, and began to sift through her homework, decided what she would and wouldn't do. Coraline worked until dinner, ate, and worked some more. She had adopted her parents ability to work for ages without having a headache, and also the need to have it finished that night.

Mel Jones climbed the stairs, intending to tell her daughter to go to bed, but opened the door to find that Coraline had already fallen asleep. She gave a soft smile, and pulled the girl back onto the pillows, and stacked the books on her desk. Then she kissed her head, and turned off the light.

* * *

**A/N; And Knut makes a miraculous comeback to the Fanfiction scene ^^'  
I haven't written anything in so long, and because I'm sick, I've been looking for ways to stop the boredom from creeping into my head and devouring my brain. So I watched all my movies, and coz I like Coraline so much, I watched it twice.  
And coz I got some good reviews for my last Coraline fic, I decided I'd try it again. =3  
Let's hope it works out well, ne?  
R&R  
-Knut**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer; I own Nothing T.T**

Wybie was laying on Coraline's bed, watching her upside down as she sat on her swivel chair, plaiting her hair.

"I don't know…you don't have to get me anything" she was saying, closing her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't have to. But I'm going to, and you telling me what you want is only going to make it easier" he said, grinning. She opened her eyes, and tipped her head upside down so that she was looking at him right side up.

"Okay, fine. You know what I want? I want a castle. Made out of diamond. With flags. And knights on white horses. Can you manage that for me, Wybie?" she asked sweetly, and he poked out his tongue and sat up.

"Seriously, Jonesy, help me out here" he said, turning around. She thought for a moment.

"…flowers. That's all you have to get me…flowers" she said finally, thinking of her garden. Wybie nodded.

"I think I can manage that" he said, and she moved the chair closer so she could hug him briefly. Then the chair scooted back across the floor so that she could slam her fist against the monitor of her computer.

"Damn machine" she growled, leaving Wybie fighting back a furious blush.

xXx

Wybie was up early on the day of Coraline's birthday. She wanted flowers, so he had to go pick some out for her. He jumped on his bike, tried and failed to coax Cat to come along, and pedaled to the town. He couldn't wait until he was old enough to drive, and get a proper motorbike. These were his thoughts as he chained the bike to the bike rack outside the florist, and as he went inside.

Coraline woke up to her beaming mother's face.

"Happy Birthday, Coraline!" she said happily. The blue haired girl looked around with a yawn, and smiled lazily.

"Thankyou" she mumbled, and then began to look around for her dad. She frowned, confused.

"He's gone out to get your present, he'll be back soon. He had to drive quite a while away to get it"

Coraline's hope of a phone vanished, you could get a phone in the town. But her curiosity was ignited.

"So…what do you want for breakfast?" her mother asked.

"Pancakes with maple syrup, cream and strawberries~!" she said excitedly, and Mel snapped her fingers and moved down to the kitchen. The now 15 year old Coraline leapt from her bed, and began to sift through her wardrobe for something special that made it feel like her birthday.

"Pancake!" she heard her mother call, so she decided to just eat while wearing her pajamas. She dashed down the stairs and sat herself down, tucking into her pancake. It was delicious. Birthday food always tasted much better. Mel lightly placed a box on the table and winked.

"That's just a little extra something you can have now" she said, and Coraline lifted the lid off of the box.

Inside was a pretty blue dress. Light blue, with a big black belt, and matching boots. They reminded her of the ones the Beldam had given her, only these were nicer. These were from her _real _mother, whom she hugged tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you~!" she said, and moved out of the way of the hot pan that dropped another fluffy pancake onto her plate.

"You're welcome, but don't get cream or syrup on it, I'd like you to wear it before it gets dirty" she instructed, pouring an unhealthy serving of syrup on top.

After four more of those delectable pancakes, Coraline was full. She grabbed the box and dashed upstairs. It fit perfectly. It hugged her frame, with a low cut neckline and the big black belt made her look even slimmer than she already was. Her hair, still in it's plaits from the other day, was fluffy from sleep, she noticed as she pulled on her boots. Someone knocked on the door, and she dashed down the stairs, expecting to see either her father, or Wybie.

Instead, she opened the door to see Miss Spink, and Miss Forcible, bickering over who was to hand over a pretty silver box. She grinned up at them.

"Ah! Happy Birthday, my dear!"

"Yes, indeed, from both of us"

"Thankyou both" Coraline said, feeling very happy in her new dress.

"The present please, Mirriam" said Miss Spink, turning to her friend. Miss Forcible laughed.

"I think not, April" she said, quickly handing the box to Coraline. Miss Spink glared at her friend, and didn't notice Cat slink in through her legs. Coraline lifted him up, and he settled around her neck, purring.

"Thankyou both so much" she said, and they stopped bickering temporarily to watch her open the box.

Inside was a basic make up set…at least basic if you were going into a life on the stage. There was no way known she could figure out what each of those little things did. There were about ten shades of lipstick alone.

"Umm…wow, thanks" she said, a little overwhelmed by the amount of ways one could improve her looks.

"We thought you were growing into a beautiful young girl-"

"- But a little makeup never hurt the beautification process, dearie" they said. She briefly wondered if they had rehearsed their little speech.

"Well, we'll be off then" said Miss Forcible.

"Have a wonderful day, sweetheart" Miss Spink added, and the two turned and left.

She opened the box again, and turned to Cat, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I really need _all _this stuff?" she asked him, and he merely flicked his tail. She took the box into the kitchen where her mother was clearing away the dishes.

"Do I really need all this stuff to make me pretty?" she asked, placing the box on the table. Her mother looked at it curiously.

"Coraline, don't speak nonsense. You're pretty without all that makeup. But I can still teach you how to work your way through it if you'd like? It's a brilliant set. Is that from Miss Forcible and Miss Spink?"

"Mhmm" she replied, holding up a tube of mascara and opening it. It smelled funny.

"How kind of them" she said, and then she began to explain what each of the items in the box were, and how to use them.

It looked like a lot, but really, it was just the same thing in different shades, Coraline realised. There were different eyeshadows, different lipsticks and lip glosses, and various nail polishes as well. She applied them carefully, while her mother watched and occasionally pointed out something that would make it easier.

"And there you go. Don't you look lovely?" Mel asked her daughter, and Coraline smiled, and moved the box upstairs into her room.

Cat waited patiently on her bed. In his mouth was a dead rat.

"Oh Cat" she said, a small whine creeping into her voice. He dropped it at her feet, watching her expectantly.

"I hope this wasn't one of Mr. B's jumping mice, Cat" she said sternly, and he merely blinked at her.

"I know, I know…you don't like rats at the best of times. Thankyou for the gift" she said, touched that he would remember. He purred happily, and began to knead at the bed with his claws. She picked up the rat by the tail, and put it on her windowsill. She caught a glimpse of herself in her mirror, and paused to look. She didn't look anything like the old Coraline. She was tall and pretty, and wearing a dress.

She was the sort of Coraline that would attract the attention of a boy. That was nonsense. The way she looked didn't change who she was inside. She began to un-plait her hair, and shook it. It was wavy, and looked quite nice, if she did say so herself. She put a simple black hair band in to hold back the flybys (black because it matched her belt) and sat beside cat, stroking his bony frame.

"Coraline? You have another visitor!" she heard her mum call. Wybie? She dashed downstairs, and her face fell just a tiny bit when she saw Mr. Bobinsky standing in the door.

"Ah! Happy Birthday, Caroline!" he said cheerfully, and she smiled at him, having a far too good day to correct him on her name. If, after four years, he couldn't remember, what were the chances of him learning now?

"Thankyou, Mr. B" she said, and he handed her a roughly wrapped package. His expression was eager as she tore off the paper, and tried to not wrinkle her nose at the smell of the cheese inside. Nestled beside the cheese was a turnip.

"Very healthy" he said happily, then reached inside his jacket to pull out a small, cowering mouse.

"He was injured in jumping, and will not jump again. Too frightened. Would you look after him?" Mr. B asked, and Coraline took the poor little creature in her hands."Aww…poor thing. Thankyou!!" she said with a smile. She was getting sick of that word already. And she knew Cat wouldn't be happy about her bringing a mouse into the house.

"I knew I could count on you, Caroline. When Amazing Mouse Circus is ready, you can come see. First row!" he declared, and she nodded.

"I would love that" she said, and he dipped into an extravagant bow.

"Of course you would. Happy Birthday, Caroline, will see you later" he said, and left with a wave.

"Coraline, I hope you're not really intending to keep that mouse in your _room_" her mother said, and the birthday girl shrugged.

"I'm not really a fan of mice…they're creepy. Maybe I'll just let him go"

"Yes…let him go, and that feral cat will have him for lunch. The only good mouse is a dead mouse" her mother said, going back to the dishes.

_Cat would say the same thing if he decided to talk again…_ she thought. She carried the cowering creature, and the rest of her present up into her room. Cat cracked open a lazy eye, then sat up, arching his back. He hissed.

"Oh pipe down. You can have it later" she snapped at him, amusement in her eyes. He purred again and settled back down.

xXx

"CORALINE!? YOUR FATHERS HOME!!" Mel yelled up the stairs. Coraline dashed down the stairs with a wide, silly grin on her face, closely followed by Cat, whom her parents had gotten used to by now. She was wrapped in a big hug by her dad.

"Happy Birthday, kiddo" he said, and she was practically bouncing, waiting for her present.

"ThanksdadcanI havemypresentnowplease?" she asked.

He chuckled, and stepped aside. It took a moment for Coraline to recognise the face, but when she did, her face cracked into the widest grin she'd grinned in a long time. He was older, but then again, so was she. He grinned back at her, and held out his arms. They hadn't seen each other since they were 11 years old.

"Hey Troll" he said, and she flew into his arms.

"Robbie!?"

* * *

**A/N; Second chapter up and running. I'm so sorry if it's crap, if it is, blame Suzette. She kicked and screamed for me to post (seriously, I was abused in CAPITALS) and even after all that, she refused to Beta for me...tut tut...~3  
Anywho, I'm liking this fic more and more, despite the lack of Wybie in this chapter, and for that I apologise.  
Nothing Else? No?  
JA~!  
~Knut**


	3. Chapter 3

He smelled the same, but at the same time different. Older. He was tall and thin, and she could feel his ribs, even through his thick jacket. His brown curls, which used to poke out from underneath his beanie (which he was never seen without, due to and the cause of constant hat-hair) were gone. It was now short and wavy, but his light brown eyes were the same as she remembered.

"I can't believe you're here!?" she said, letting him go. She peeked over his shoulder (Lucky she was wearing her heeled boots) looking for her other best friend from Michigan.

"Ellen couldn't come…she's caught something, and she's really bummed about it too" he said, and she pouted a little, but her expression lightened as he looked at her. He was here! In Oregon with her! She spun around and hugged her dad, then her mum.

"Thankyou so much!!" she said happily, then turned back to Robbie. He just grinned at her, flashing a perfect set of teeth.

"How long are you staying?" she asked, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Three whole weeks, can you believe my mum let me skip school? _My _mum?!" he said with a had such a sweet laugh. It made another grin pull at her lips.

"C'mon, see my room!" she said, taking his hand and dragging him up the stairs. He chuckled as she dragged him, and she laughed in response. She pushed open the door, to see Cat swallow up the remains of the injured little mouse. She rolled her eyes at his impatience.

Cat looked up, ears pricked, but they flattened against his skull when he realised that her visitor wasn't Wybie.

"Hey there, kitty" Robbie said, sitting on the bed beside him. Cat glared through his bright blue eyes, making Coraline pick him up in case he decided that he wanted to show his dislike of Robbie using his claws.

"He's very particular" she explained, scratching him behind the ears. He closed his eyes.

"Does he have a name? Are you feeding him enough? He's skin and bone" Robbie asked, running a hand down the creature's bony spine. Coraline frowned. Cat had always looked like that. Was he malnourished? Had she and Wybie neglected him?

"Umm, his name is Cat…and he's always looked like that…I assumed he was just like that I guess" she said, and Cat looked up at her to confirm that yes, he did just look like that and that the only thing she'd ever done that came near neglect was to throw him at the Beldam. Robbie shrugged, and lifted the cat out of her arms, and carried him towards the windowsill. He put him outside the window, and closed the glass shut so he was locked out. Cat glared at him spitefully, as if he were just a great big rat.

Coraline knew she'd be punished later for Robbie's rudeness.

"Umm…"

"Can I have some private catch-up time with Coraline, Cat? Thanks pal" Robbie said, rapping on the glass. Cat's glare intensified. Every hair on his body screamed 'No, you loon. Let me back inside so I can gouge out your eyes'

At least that's what she thought, and the dark animal had already slunk away before she could let him back inside. Robbie turned to her with a soft smile.

"Now…where were we? That's right…" he said, and he hugged her again. She hugged him back. He had always been affectionate towards both her and Ellen, their other best friend. But this felt different.

"Did you get all my letters? And my emails?" she asked him, and he nodded.

"Yup. The first one we got, I read to all your friends at once. Everyone was really sad when you left. Poor Ellen cried for ages" he said, and Coraline frowned.

"Well, it's not my fault we moved! Blame my parents!" she turned to face him, annoyed.

"Hey, I'm not blaming you for anything! I'm just saying how much we missed you, is all" he said, raising his hands in surrender. Her expression softened, and she smiled sweetly.

"I'm sorry, I missed you guys too" she said, sitting on her swivel chair. He sat on the bed, and grinned over at her.

xXx

Wybie was grumbling to himself as he pushed his bike up the road to the Pink Palace Apartments. His chain had broken just out of town, and no one had come by to help him, so he'd had to push it the whole way home, while trying not to damage the small bouquet of pretty white and blue flowers in his hand. Several seed packets were in his pocket as well, so that she could plant those in her garden.

He leaned the bike up against the steps, and felt Cat brush past his legs. He scooped the skinny creature up into his arms, and he crawled into the front of his jacket. Wybie then climbed the stairs (it was agony, his legs screamed in protest after such a long walk from town) and rapped on the door. Charlie opened the door.

"Oh hey Wybie. Coraline's in her room"

"Thanks Mr. Jones" Wybie said, and he walked inside, and up more stairs ("Ow….ow…ow…"). He pushed the door open.

"Happy Birthday Jonesy!" he said, and she turned to face him.

She didn't look like any Coraline he had seen before. She hadn't always had skin like that…nor had her eyes been so big and dark. Her lashes were longer, and a thin coating of clear gloss made her lips shine. Her long blue hair was wavy, and she was wearing the prettiest dress he had ever seen. It took a lot of self control not to drop the flowers and just throw his arms around her.

"Wybie! Oh they're so pretty, Thankyou!" she said, taking the flowers from him. She put them in a small vase that had once held some of the tulips from her garden, but had remained empty since they had died. He nodded, and held out the seed packets.

"You can also plant these in the garden. They're the same as those ones" he said, gesturing to the bouquet. She hugged him briefly.

"Thankyou" she said again, and then she put them in one of the drawers in her desk. It was then that Wybie spotted the other boy. He was watching Coraline as though he had just found something precious that he had lost, and Wybie didn't like it one bit. Cat poked his head out of the top of his jacket.

"Hey, he has a cat like yours!" the boy pointed out with a laugh.

Both Wybie and Coraline laughed at that. Even Cat purred with amusement.

"Cat isn't mine. He belongs to himself" she explained.

"He's feral. A stray" Wybie contributed, and Cat crawled out of the jacket and up around his shoulders.

"Even so…we sort of share him, right Cat?" she asked him, scratching behind his ears. His tail twitched.

"Not be rude, but who is this guy anyway?" Robbie asked, standing up. He wrapped his arms around Coraline possessively.

Wybie clenched his gloved hands into tight fists and then relaxed them.

"I'm Wybie, Jonesy's friend" he said coldly. He could already tell that he and this other guy were _not_ going to get along. Not at all.

"Right…well I'm Robbie. I'm one of this little Troll's _best _friends" Robbie countered, and Wybie raised an eyebrow.

_A best friend that hasn't seen her in…how long? Four years? I was there when Beldam was running around trying to sew buttons into her eyes! _He thought venomously.

"I don't think Jonesy looks anything like a Troll. If you do, you need your eyes checked" he snapped back, and Coraline tilted her head. She hadn't seen Wybie act so strangely before.

"You guys are _both _my best friends, Ellen and Abbey and Lester too. I have lots of best friends" she said, and then turned to speak to Wybie specifically.

"My Mum and Dad flew Robbie over for my birthday! Isn't that just awesome!? I mean, we haven't seen each other in so long!! And he's here for _three whole weeks_!" she gushed happily.

"That's great" he said, unenthusiastically. A thump on the door stole their attention. Charlie was lugging Robbie's luggage up the stairs, and into her room.

"Robbie, you can stay in here, or in the spare room, whichever you want" he said, and Robbie immediately chose to stay in her room. Wybie's heart fell just a little more. Charlie nodded, and left the suitcase at the window, and went downstairs to find the camping bed.

"Wybie, you'll have to stay over one night too!" Coraline said, tugging on his arm.

"Maybe…I'll ask my grandmother" he said smiling at her. Robbie snorted.

"You live with your grandmother?" he asked. Wybie nodded.

"Yeah, I do. She's the only one who can look after me, coz I don't have any parents" he snapped. He glared at the floor for a moment, before looking up at Coraline.

"Happy Birthday Jonesy, see you tomorrow" he said, and left. Cat gave a soft miaow, head butted Wybie's chin, and glared back at Robbie. Coraline whirled around to face her old friend.

"Why did you have to be so horrible to him?" she asked, and he closed the space between them.

"I didn't mean it, honest" he murmured, and she scowled her little scowl at him.

"Robbie, Wybie was my first friend here, and he's my dearest friend here. Please don't bring up his mum and dad again" she said, her voice softer. His arms found their way around her waist and she gave a little gasp.

"Even with me here…that kid is your dearest friend?" he whispered into her ear. She melted on the spot. She froze when she thought she felt his lips brush her neck, but wasn't sure whether or not she had imagined it.

"…Coraline?" he asked, and his hold on her tightened. She was pulled even closer to him. His smell filled her head, and she could feel a light blush on her cheeks.

"…I- I don't know…You're both close to me…" she whispered back, and she would almost hear the smile in his voice.

"Well, that's good to hear, sorta" he said, and then he was gone, back to sifting through his suitcase.

Moments later, Charlie pushed open the door, and set up the camping bed at the foot of her own bed.

"Wybie left pretty early. He didn't even want cake" he noted, and Coraline felt a little guilt stab at her mind.

"Yeah…I don't think he was feeling very well" she said, and Charlie nodded.

"Poor kid. He walked all the way here from town, because the chain on his bike broke, and he couldn't fix it. No wonder he felt under the weather" he said, and kissed his daughter on the top of the head, before leaving her with a guilty conscience.

He had rode all the way into town for her birthday present, bought it, began to ride back, broken his bike, and then walked the rest of the way, just to see her on her birthday. She would have to thank him appropriately. She thought about the packets of seeds. She could always plant them in little window boxes. It would be her private garden, instead of the one she shared with her parents, Misses Forcible and Spink, and Mr. Bobinsky. And Wybie. He had helped her put that garden together, so he owned a slice of it too.

"I forgot, you have to go to school tomorrow, don't you?" Robbie asked, and he sounded sad.

"Yeah, I do. And I doubt my mum will let me skip school for you, Robbie" she said with a small smile.

"I doubt it too. Oh well. I'll probably just sleep. I'm kinda exhausted" he said with a laugh, and she hugged him again.

"It's so good to see you, Troll" he said to her, making her smile.

* * *

**A/N; Okay, this is the BETA'd version of chapter 3. Apparently Robbie was too much of a dickhead ;)  
Thankyou to Suzette, and I take back everything I said about her in the last chappie. Cept the little heart. I mean that, Liette~!  
~3  
JA~!  
~Knut  
(PS; R&R)**


	4. Chapter 4

Coraline tiptoed across her room, trying not to wake Robbie, who was still sound asleep. She fetched her uniform, her towel and, after a moments thought, her makeup kit. She took it all into the bathroom and locked the door. Then she had a nice hot shower, and got herself dressed. She tried to remember how to apply all the makeup, but settled for a touch of mascara and some clear gloss. She then pinned her fringe back out of her eyes, and hung her towel up to dry.

She snuck back into her dark room and put away the makeup and stuffed her pajamas under her pillow. She paused as Robbie rolled in his sleep and smiled. Last night had been one of the rare nights when she hadn't woken up crying, or worse, screaming. Her old friends presence had had a positive effect. All she could dream about was him, but even that made her a little worried.

On her way out, she stubbed her toe on the corner of her wardrobe, and uttered a profanity. She winced, and looked over at Robbie. Then she remembered that he would sleep through anything. Whenever they had had sleepovers as kids, she and Ellen could plaster his face with textas until 2 in the morning without him ever waking up. She smiled at the memory, picked up her schoolbag and tiptoed down the stairs.

Her mother was up, and typing away on her laptop at the table. She looked up briefly, and went back to her work, taking a long sip of coffee as she typed with the other hand. Coraline sat down and helped herself to some cereal. At Wybie's normal morning knock, she leapt up, and carried her bowl to the sink.

"Bye mum!" she said softly.

_Tap tap tap, _the keyboard replied.

She opened the door, and grinned at him.

"Morning!" she whispered cheerfully, pulling on her shoes and swinging her schoolbag over her shoulder. She leapt down the stairs, and began to run to the bus stop with a light laugh, but Wybie wasn't running. His legs ached.

"Yeah, yeah, you win, as per usual" he said, as she leaned against the bus stop sign with a bored expression on her pretty face.

"You didn't even try this morning. Are you okay?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I'm fine. Just a sore leg, is all" he told her, and she frowned.

"You know, you could have just picked some of the flowers in my garden. You didn't have to go all the way into town" she said, sitting on the seat beside him.

"I know. But it was your birthday, and because I couldn't get you your stupid diamond castle, I wanted to get you white flowers instead" he explained.

She rested her head on his shoulder, and he rested his on top of hers.

"Thankyou…I'm going to put those seeds in window boxes hanging from my windowsill. That way, they're mine and only mine" she said and he smiled.

"Good idea. Where are you gonna get window boxes from?" he asked, lifting up his head.

"I dunno. I could ask Robbie to make them while I was at school. I mean, we have the wood out the back, right?" she said, and he nodded.

"And how is Robbie?" he asked, not really caring.

"He's very sorry about being such an insensitive jerkwad yesterday" she said, and he laughed.

"Uhuh, sure he is" he mumbled, and she crossed her arms.

"He is! I told him that the both of you are my best friends, and Ellen and Abbey and Lester too!" she insisted.

"Coraline…he just seems like the type of guy who's gonna go all…_possessive._"

"And that's a bad thing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well yeah, for me it is. You're my best friend, and he's going to prove to me why he's a better best friend than I am for the next three weeks!" Wybie told her, and she didn't really know how to reply.

"I _know_ that Robbie is possessive…I _know_…but…he knows lots of things about me that you don't know" she said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Well…he knows what happened to my goldfish when I was 8...and why I'm not allowed to keep hamsters…" she said, and Wybie laughed coldly.

"Well, he can have the knowledge of your damn goldfish, because I know other things about you. More _important _things. Like how you can't stand the sight of a needle, or how you have an aversion to dolls and how you suffer from horrific nightmares almost _every single night_" he hissed the last few words.

"Like how you won't go near the well, just in case, or the room with the door. Like how you scream if anything reminds you of _her_…Coraline, I was there when that happened, and I've watched you try and pretend it never happened.

"You can tell me it's all over and that there's nothing left to worry about, but I'm not stupid. Even the way you look at me sometimes, I know you can't see my eyes. You just see buttons!" his voice was growing in volume now. She was having trouble forming a reply, but before she could say a thing, the bus arrived. He heaved his bag over his shoulder without a word, and climbed the stairs. She followed silently, shocked at his outburst.

He purposely chose a seat next to Lester today, and she was forced to move to the back of the bus. The clouds overhead were dark, and threatened rain, which meant that Abbey's paranoid mum would probably be driving her to school. She sat alone, towards the back. As the rain began to fall, pelting the glass with all it's might, she felt the hot tears spill over. Wybie had never yelled at her like that before. And he knew better than to bring up Beldam.

And he knew better not to mention needles around her. Whenever she saw one, or thought of one, she could feel it pierce the delicate muscles in her eyes. And she couldn't make the stinging go away. She rubbed her eyes furiously, trying to make it stop.

"C-Coraline?" she looked up into his face, and tried to muster up a glare. It didn't work.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm just…really mad at _him_ is all…" Wybie said, taking off his skeleton gloves and wiping the tears from her cheeks. He was sitting beside her now. More tears fell.

"I- …Was it the needles? I'm sorry, Jonesy, I'm sorry!" he pleaded for her forgiveness, and she smiled weakly, still rubbing her eyes.

He'd seen her in a panic before, but it was rare that Coraline Jones cried. The sight made him feel lower than dirt.

"Can you stay over tonight?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I'll ask Grandma, and even if she says no, I'll come stay…promise"

"Just as long as she doesn't come after you with her walking frame…that could hurt"

"Haha…yeah. I'd need to borrow it after she'd finished with me" he laughed weakly. She laughed with him, and continued rubbing her eyes.

"…Thanks, you're a good friend, Wybie" she said, and lowered her hands. Her pretty brown eyes were now red, and her mascara had run. She caught sight of herself in the window.

"Oh shit!" she cursed, and pulled a little mirror out of her bag. She carefully wiped the black mess off her cheeks, and by the time the bus rattled to a stop in front of the school, she was able to walk into the rain and give Abbey a cheery smile and hug as she waited with her hideous bright pink umbrella that clashed horribly with her hair.

xXx

"Hey Troll" Robbie called, leaning casually on the handrail that accompanied the front steps. She flashed him a winning smile, and waved as Wybie turned to go to his grandmothers. "Don't you look cute in your school uniform" he said, and she blushed a little.

"Umm…Thankyou" she said, and he waiting for her to pass before following her through the front door. She climbed the stairs, dropping her schoolbag at the foot (No homework for once, brilliant) and removing her blazer. She tossed it lightly on her bed, and opened up her wardrobe, pulling out her jeans and a white shirt with a star on the front. She tossed them on her bed, and turned around.

Robbie was right there. His face was inches from hers. Not even inches. Centimetres. He heard her sharp intake of breath, and took a step back.

"Sorry…didn't mean that" he said, and she took another deep breath to calm herself down. She put both hands on his chest, and pushed him out of her room, and shut the door.

"I'm getting changed…stay there" she ordered, and he knew better than to argue.

Wybie climbed the stairs, his backpack over his shoulder. Robbie was sitting down by the door, and he raised a hand in greeting.

"She's getting changed" he said, explaining why he was sitting in the hallway. Wybie nodded, and sat opposite him.

They sat in silence until Coraline opened her door."Okay…you can come in now" she said, and they followed her silently. She crawled up onto her bed as Robbie sat on his small camping bed, and Wybie sat next to her. There was an awkward pause.

"So…how was school?" Robbie asked, and Wybie almost snorted. Almost.

"Boring. I'm gonna ask Mum for tomorrow off" Coraline answered, laying on her stomach. "Oh. Cool! We can have a movie day or something" Robbie grinned. Apparently, he had brought a handful of his favorite movies with him. He pulled the stack out of his suitcase and handed it to them. They sorted through all the movies, and Coraline found one that she insisted upon watching.

"The Breakfast Club? Why that one?" Wybie asked curiously, taking the case from her and reading the back.

"Because I remember mum telling me about it once. She said it was funny" she replied simply. Then she picked up another case.

"Either the Breakfast Club…or this" she said, holding up Sweeny Todd. Wybie was reluctant.

He didn't do very well with gore, but he couldn't look like a sook in front of Robbie, or Coraline, so he said nothing.

"Yes, watch that one!" Robbie said, snatching the case playfully and opening it. He took out the disc and slipped it into the DVD player.

Coraline jumped up to shut the blinds, and found Cat sitting at one, waiting to come inside. She let him in, and he slunk past Robbie and up onto Wybie's lap.

"Hello, Cat" he said, scratching the creature behind the ears. He purred in response, and glared at Robbie through narrowed blue eyes.

Coraline sat beside him, and lightly stroked Cat's back. Robbie, feeling let out, jumped up with them, on the other side of the girl. She pressed 'play' on the remote, and inwardly, Wybie groaned.

xXx

It wasn't that bad. A bit too musical for him, but at the least the gore wasn't that bad. It looked so…_fake_. They were about halfway through, and everyone had moved around. He was sitting on the camping bed, after Cat and Robbie had had a little tiff (Apparently Cat did _not_ like the newcomer, and kept trying to attack his eyes). Robbie had his back against the wall, propped up on almost all of his friends pillows, while said friend had her head in his lap, the rest of her body making an 's' shape.

"Do you have popcorn, Jonesy?" Wybie asked, and Coraline thought for a moment.

"I think so…it'd be the microwave stuff, so if you want it, you have to make it" she said, and he nodded and got to his feet. Cat flicked his tail in annoyance as the bed moved, but went back to sleep almost immediately.

He went down the stairs, and sifted through the cupboards.

"Aha!" he exclaimed, holding up the evasive packet, and moving towards the ancient microwave.

Coraline had pressed pause on the DVD, so that Wybie wouldn't miss anything, and was laying down with her head in Robbie's lap, smiling subconsciously as he ran his fingers through her long blue hair. She looked up to see him smiling at her.

"What?" she asked, her hand reaching up to touch her cheek. Was there something there…?

He took her hand in his, and leaned down to lightly kiss her on the mouth. He felt her hesitation, and gave her hand a soft squeeze. She melted into it, and smiled against his lips. He broke it off, but his face stayed inches from hers.

"Well…that was…nice" she said breathlessly, with a small smile. Her cheeks were pink.

He smiled at her.

"Really?" he asked, just to make sure. He didn't want her running away from him. He didn't want her to go anywhere.

"Yeah…it was" she said, her hand bringing his face back down to hers so that she could kiss him again. She didn't hesitate, and nor did he.

She broke it off this time, but only for a moment. She rolled over and sat up, so that they were kissing right side up, instead of her face being upside down. Their lips met again, and this time, he hugged her around the waist. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck.

Neither of them heard the _thump, thump, thump _of Wybie coming back up the stairs.

He opened the door and nearly dropped the bowl of popcorn. They broke apart immediately, and Coraline flushed red, and smiled timidly.

"Umm…We- I paused the movie so you wouldn't miss anything" she said, and he nodded, a little shocked. Then he moved over to the camping bed silently, picked up Cat and lay down with him close to his chest. He could feel the animals heartbeat, even through his thick jacket. _Does a broken heart beat? _He wondered.

"…Wybie?" Coraline asked, peeking over the end of the bed. He looked up at her, and managed a smile.

"Popcorn? It's hot" he said, holding up the bowl. She smiled apologetically, and took a handful, crawling back towards Robbie, who draped his arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder, and pressed play.

The movie rolled on, as if nothing had happened.

But _so much _had happened.

Wybie could feel her slipping away. She wasn't his Jonesy anymore.

She was Robbie's Coraline.

And Wybie couldn't compete with Robbie.

Under the watchful eye of Cat, Wybie slipped into sleep, unable to dream of anything but Coraline, and all the ways he could tell her just how much he liked her.

* * *

  
**A/N: Yup...a long one this time. ^^_  
Umm, what can I say about this chapter? It makes me hate Robbie even more, even though he's a nice guy...  
But I hate him even more for that.  
What else? I heart Wybie. It may not seem like it, but I really do. I think I'll bring Cat into it a little more. He was my favorite anyway.  
Oh, and thankyou to Suze, for giving me the go ahead to post, and to everyone who reviewed.**

And a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friend SAMI-CHAN~!  
3  
R&R  
- KC


	5. Chapter 5

**I own nothing...cept *sigh* Robbie. Joy...  
...Sleeeeeeeeeeeves~**

When Wybie woke up the next morning, he felt terrible. His back hurt from sleeping on the camping bed, his arm was numb because he'd slept on it, and cut off the circulation, and to top it all off, he had a headache. It throbbed as memories from last night came flooding back. He sat up, and almost died when he saw Coraline and Robbie, fast asleep in each others arms, under the covers of her bed.

At least she hadn't woken up screaming. Wybie tried to see the positive side. It made him feel worse.

He winced as blood flowed back into his dead arm, and looked around for Cat. He was sitting outside the window patiently.

How did he get out to begin with? Cat gave him a look that said 'None of your business' as he opened the window. The dark creature leapt into his arms, and Wybie climbed into the camping bed again, and Cat snuggled into his chest, purring.

"Why me, Cat?" Wybie whispered. Cat blinked at him.

_It'll be alright._

"No…she doesn't like me like that…I'll always be just a best friend…" Wybie said, still in a low whisper. Cat gave a gentle _mreow._

_One day, she'll need a true friend. And you'll be there for her…_

Cat proceeded to knead the boy's arm with his front paws. He then settled down, and closed his eyes, the soft purr putting Wybie's agitated mind at ease.

He wasn't sure if Cat had intended to get that meaning across, or whether he was just imagining that he could get messages across, but he lightly stroked his thin back, glad for his company. He closed his eyes, for it was too early to get up for school just yet.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard the doona rustle above him, and lay perfectly still.

Robbie eased his arm out from underneath Coraline's neck, trying not to wake her. He didn't succeed. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at him as she stretched.

"Good morning" she said, and Robbie pressed a finger to his lips, pointing to the foot of the bed, where Wybie lay, apparently asleep.

"Good morning" he replied in a whisper, and he kissed her forehead. She sighed, and leaned against him, breathing in his scent. He hugged her tight.

"…And you're sure your mum won't let you stay here with me?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"I know she won't…" she replied quietly, but Wybie had very good hearing.

"So, the first day you spend as my girlfriend, you have to spend at school, away from me?" he asked, and Wybie could hear the smile in his voice, and every single word pierced his heart, like arrows, one after the other. He squeezed his eyes tighter, and felt Cat head butt his chin.

"Looks like it…I'm sorry" she replied, kissing his neck. He smiled into her hair.

"Then go get ready…your mum'll be up to wake you in a few minutes" he murmured, and she leaned back into her pillows.

"Should we wake up Wybie? I don't want to, but if he misses the bus…" she asked, then decided that she would.

He felt her hand on his shoulder, lightly shaking him awake.

"Wybie…wake up" she whispered, and he cracked open an eye, then yawned.

"Hmm? Whassamatter?" he mumbled, trying to push the conversation he had just heard from his mind. He sat up, causing Cat to glare at him, then at Coraline, who scooped him up into her arms to calm him down.

"You gotta get up…we have school" she said and he nodded, rubbing his eyes. She smiled, put Cat on her bed (He shot a rather nasty glare at Robbie, and began to wash his face with his paw) and went into the bathroom.

"Morning Wybie. Sleep well?" Robbie asked, and Wybie shook his head.

"Rotten sleep" he said, and Robbie could tell he didn't want to go into details, so he just pulled on a shirt. It was then that Wybie noticed that he hadn't been wearing one to begin with.

"Well…I'll get breakfast and let you get ready" he said, and he left. Wybie pulled his uniform out of his backpack, and got changed. He sat on the bed and stroked Cat for a minute or two, but his head snapped up when he heard the door open. Coraline shut the door behind her, turned around and yelped in surprise. She clutched the towel wrapped around her body, and Wybie looked away.

"What the hell!?" she cried, turning around. He didn't look up.

"I thought you were getting dressed in the bathroom!" he replied, and she pointed to her grey uniform, hanging over the back of her computer chair. He frowned.

"You have ten seconds to get out of this room, Why-Were-You-Born" she said, and Wybie scooped up Cat and got out of there as quickly as he possibly could.

xXx

Wybie glared at Lester as he climbed onto the bus. His friend had purposely sat next to Abbey today, who was avoiding his gaze as well. Coraline followed him, her face also falling at the realisation that she would have to sit by the person who didn't like her very much at the moment. He shuffled across and looked out of the bus window, at Cat, sitting by the bus stop. He was washing his face.

Coraline poked him in the arm, a change from her usual punch. He turned him head."Hmm?"

"…are you mad at me!?" she asked, and he frowned.

"No…" _Yes._

"You're sure?"

"Positive" _Why did you choose him!? _

"Wybie…please don't be mad…"

"Coraline, why would I be mad at you?" he asked, and she looked down.

"Because I kissed Robbie…" she said quietly, and he closed his eyes for a moment.

"Coraline, you can kiss anyone you want to. It's not up to me, and I don't care. Well…I do care if the guys a sleazebag…but if he's not, then…" Wybie trailed off. Coraline gave him a little smile, and lightly brushed her fingers over his gloved hand.

"Is Robbie a sleazebag?" she asked quietly, and Wybie forced himself to shake his head. It was true. Robbie was a nice guy.

"No" he replied, his voice almost a whisper. "He's a good guy, Jonesy…you did good"

"…Thanks, Wybie. You're the best friend" she said, resting her head on his shoulder. He stiffened. Why did she make it so difficult for him? He didn't say anything, only put an arm around her shoulders and smiled weakly.

xXx

By lunchtime, word had gotten around that Coraline Jones had a boyfriend. Of course, Wybie had people approaching him left, right and centre, offering their congratulations. And each time he had to tell them the truth.

'_No, it's not me. We're just friends…_'

'_Wow…and I thought that you two would get together for sure'_

'_Yeah…again, we're just friends…'_

Lester and Abbey had already demanded a meeting, to see if this guy was right for their little Jonesy. She laughed, and told them that Wybie had already given his approval. Lester raised an eyebrow, and tightened his long blonde ponytail. Abbey gushed. She was, in fact, so hyper, that her voice had taken on a squeaky sound. Lester dragged Wybie by his jacket to the music room. Being one of the top music students in the school meant that he had access to it whenever he wanted. He plucked at guitar strings while he talked.

"Are you seriously okay with this?" he asked, and Wybie crossed his arms.

"Jonesy isn't my property, you know. She can do what she wants, and date who she wants"

"Yeah, but…you've liked Jonesy for as long as I can remember" Lester replied. Wybie looked away.

"I know that…but Robbie's a good guy. He'll look after her"

"You're not gonna do anything?" the blonde asked, his fingers moving up and down the neck of the guitar without him even paying attention. He was staring at Wybie intently.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Tell her. Convince her not to date this Robbie jackass." he said, stopping his playing. Wybie looked at him as if he were stupid. Which he sorta was.

"Les, this isn't some movie. It doesn't work like that. Listen, Robbie leaves in, like, three weeks. They can't keep up the dating thing when he's not there. I'll just hope that it falls apart" he said, and turned to leave.

"And if it doesn't?" Lester called, and Wybie stopped, pausing to ponder the question.

"Then I guess she and Robbie can just stay happy…" he replied, and closed the music room door with a snap. Lester sighed and went back to his playing.

xXx

Lester and Abbey had to wait out the rest of the week before they could meet Robbie. The blonde music students band practice, and Abbey's dancing ruled out most nights for the remainder of the week, but on Friday, Coraline suggested that they all meet in the local coffee shop in town, and just spend the day together. It was all organised and Mel breathed a sigh of relief when she learned that she wouldn't have to take care of any more kids.

On the Saturday morning, Coraline woke up with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What's the matter?" Robbie asked. He could tell just by looking at her that something was wrong.

"You're going to meet my new friends for the first time…well…it was nice knowing you, Rob" she said, and he lightly kissed her head.

"Honestly, you're just being paranoid. What's the worst they could do?" he asked, making her raise an eyebrow.

_If only you knew…_

* * *

**A/N; Okie Doke. New chappie. Tis a bit shorter than the others but...y'know.  
Down to business. First thing, thankyou to CANDY the EPIC for Beta-ing, coz I know Suzette is dying from lack of sleep.  
Get a good sleep Liette.  
Also, congrats to said EPIC one on being cast as the Witch in our school production. I called it! ~ 3  
AND just to top it all off, I hate Robbie even more!! :D  
THANKYOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED W  
You guys make me grin everytime I open my emails ^^_  
R Sleeves the musical...)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I own nothing, except for Robbie and Abbey and (*squee*) Lester**

The coffee shop was small and cosy, a bunch of round tables and every other spare space occupied by soft, squishy chairs that sucked you in if you sat still long enough. One table in the corner, jammed between giant mirror and a glass wall, was occupied by Wybie and Lester. Both of them were listening to music on their iPods, with one earphone in, and the other out.

Wybie's small iPod was gunmetal grey, with a mighty scratch on the screen. He had dropped it while riding his bike, which resulted in that particular scratch and a rather impressive dent in the corner as well. Lester's iPod was a 160gb classic, and there were so many songs on it, Wybie wondered whether he had actually heard them all. Lester also liked his music loud.

The blonde snatched Wybie's iPod from his pocket."What crap are we listening to today, Wybourne?" he asked with a light grin. He unlocked it, and the screen lit up.

" 'Ridiculous', by the Sleeves Musical cast…where do you get this shit?"

"Abbey gave it to me…it's actually not that bad…"

"WY-BIE~!! LES-TER~"

"Speak of the devil…" Lester said, and their redheaded friend leapt over the back of one of the empty chairs, earning her a disapproving look from one of the women behind the counter.

"How are this morning? Are we excited? I know I am, I can't wait to meet this guy…what're you listening to?" she chattered, and Lester put a hand to his forehead.

"I'm listening to you speak, and therefore cannot hear my own music" he said, at the same time Wybie said

"Sleeves"

"Ahh~ Which song?"

" 'Ridiculous'" he replied, and she smiled proudly.

"Well done. How long have we been here, boys?" she asked, pulling a five dollar note from her wallet.

"Half an hour. I came in early" Wybie replied. Abbey saw that Lester wasn't going to answer her, and got to her feet, and moved towards the counter.

"Whenever that girl is around, I suddenly develop a migraine…" Lester growled, and Wybie smirked.

"Wybie…I have to ask. What do you think about this whole…Boyfriend-Thing?" Abbey asked, coming back to the table after ordering.

"I don't understand the question"

"You so obviously like Jonesy. What do you think about her having a boyfriend that isn't you?"

"I really don't-"

"You know, knowing that she probably hugs him tighter than anyone else in the world…"

"Abbey, I honestly-"

"-and it's him she whispers 'I love you' too, probably every five minutes at least-"

"Abbey…" Lester warned.

"And I'll bet you Robbie stole her first kiss, too! Ugh, that's gotta suck for yo-"

"_Yes, _alright? It _sucks_…but you know what? If she likes Robbie, then I'm not gonna stop her" Wybie snapped, snatching Abbey's hot chocolate as the waitress brought it over. He grabbed the spoon as well and scooped a decent dollop of whipped cream off the top and shoving it in his mouth. Lester smirked a little at the look on Abbey's face.

"Wybie, I paid an extra _thirty cents _for that cream!" she hissed, trying to steal the cup back. He took another spoonful and let her take it. She gave a little whine at the lack of cream, stood up with a scowl and kindly asked the waitress at the counter if she could please top it up for her, pushing thirty cents across the bench. Back at the table, the boys hi-fived.

The café door opened, and Coraline walked in, followed by Robbie. They were both grinning, with scarves wrapped around their necks.

"JONESY!" Abbey cried, running over to her friend and hugging her tightly around the neck. Robbie raised an eyebrow lightly, and smiled at Abbey, who grinned back.

"And who might this be?" she asked coyly, and Coraline rolled her eyes.

"Take one guess…Robbie, this is my friend Abbey, and Abbey, this is Robbie, my-"

"Go on….say it…" she cut in, looking as though she was holding back a squeal. Coraline smirked, eyes alight.

"My _boyfriend_" she said, hugging him around the waist. Abbey did squeal, causing Lester to glare at her and turn his music up even louder.

Robbie held out a hand for Abbey to take, but she just copied his girlfriend and hugged him around the waist.

"Nice to meet you Robbie" she said happily. Robbie just smiled awkwardly at her, patting her head.

"Yeah…you too, Abbey…umm…"

"Abbey, let go" Coraline demanded, moving towards their back table. She did, and ran to the counter to take her hot chocolate with a new topping of cream.

"Morning, boys" Coraline said, sitting down. Abbey sat beside her.

"Morning, Miss Jones" Lester replied, standing up to hug her and give her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Wybie glared at him as he sat down, and she blushed a little. Robbie raised his eyebrow again.

"Don't sit down" he said to Coraline, and she turned around in case she had sat on something. He jumped into her spot, and pulled her into his lap.

"You must be Robbie" Lester said, leaning forward to hold out his hand. Robbie leaned around his girlfriend to take his hand and shake it.

"Yeah. And you're Lester?"

"Indeedy" Lester replied, changing the song on his iPod. "And don't forget it, coz if you hurt her, I'm the one that hurts you"

"Lester!" Coraline scolded, slipping her hand into Robbie's.

"Yes?"

"Don't worry, he doesn't mean it" she told her boyfriend, who smiled.

"Of course I mean it. If he hurts you in any way, Jonesy, I'll break his face" Lester cautioned, and Robbie squeezed her hand.

"That just adds to my reasons for not hurting you" he said, and Lester gave him a look that read 'Ugh, you're so cheesy'.

"Aww, you loser" Coraline said, and she lightly pecked him on the lips. He grinned, and kissed her back. Abbey finished her hot chocolate.

"So~ Robbie…are you going to look after our Jonesy?" she asked. Robbie pretended to think for a moment.

"Of course! Thank_you_ for looking after her for the past few years I haven't been here" he said, and Lester looked up from his iPod.

"…You don't live here?" he shot, eyes narrowed. If he could, Wybie would have told Les to back off a bit, but he sort of enjoyed the Robbie-bashing…ugh, he was a horrible friend…

"No, I live in Michigan" he said, and Lester pulled a face.

"So…you're obviously going back there"

"Yeah, in about 2 ½ weeks" he replied, and Coraline leaned back so that her head was on his shoulder. Lester sighed.

"So…you nick off, leaving us with a heartbroken Jonesy?"

"Lester-" Coraline began, but she was cut off.

"Wybie? I would count that as _hurting _her, wouldn't you…?" Les asked, looking over at his quiet friend.

"Lester, shut up" Wybie said, and Coraline looked at him thankfully.

"Coraline and I are mature enough to keep up a long distance relationship" Robbie shot back, narrowing his eyes. He didn't like this guy. Maybe he had been crushing on her for a while, and Robbie had beaten him to it? Well, screw him. She was his now. His arms tightened around her waist.

"Yeah, well, I have no limits, Rob, and I will come to Michigan armed with a crowbar…" Lester said, falling back into his seat.

The rest of the day passed with a lot less death threats. Soon enough, Lester and Robbie were laughing like old mates, something about being bonded by the same taste in music, and Wybie felt alone again. Abbey's approval of Robbie was obvious. She hung off of every word he said, and giggled whenever he did something that fit into the boyfriend role…especially when he had tucked a lock of her blue hair behind Coraline's ear.

Most of the time, Wybie was silent, listening to his music. He had never been a fan of the mainstream music, and instead listened to a variety of less popular stuff. It didn't mean it wasn't good, just not as well known. He bought himself a coffee (White Choc Mocha) and that was passed around, so he really only ended up having half. Probably less, thanks to Lester.

"I have to go…band practice" Lester told them at around 4.

He jumped up, hugged Abbey and Coraline, shook Robbie's hand and left the shop with Wybie in tow. The others just stayed in the shop.

"I thought you didn't like him" Wybie said. Lester frowned in confusion.

"What gave you that idea?"

" 'You hurt her, I'll break your face'?" he repeated, and Lester laughed.

"Yeah, well, just coz I say things like that doesn't mean I don't like someone. I don't mind Robbie at all, he's a good guy with good music taste. But I meant it…if he hurts her, I'll come after him with a crowbar"

"Right"

"And you'll be right there beside me…"

"…Sporting a baseball bat" Wybie said with a smirk, and Lester grinned, clapping a hand on his shoulder. He jumped on his bike, and rode away with a salute.

With a sigh, Wybie turned back to the coffee shop, and pushed through the door. Coraline turned around, and tilted her head.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and he gave her a sunny grin.

"I'm fine" he told her, sitting down opposite them. In his pocket, his phone vibrated.

"Hello?" he asked, turning away from Abbey, Robbie and Jonesy.

"_Hello? Hello? Wybourne?_"

"Hey, Gran" he said into the mouthpiece.

"_Can you fetch me an onion for dinner? Oh, and some fish_" his grandmother said.

"Gran, you and I both hate fish" he reminded her, and she chuckled.

"_That may be true, but your little Cat friend certainly doesn't. Get him a fish or two, will you? I'll repay you when you get home"_ she said, and he promised he would, and hung up.

"Who was that?" Coraline asked.

"My Gran. She wants me to get Cat some fish. What do you think he'll like?" he asked.

"Just ask the guy if you can smell them all, and pick the grossest one" Robbie suggested, and the three of them laughed. Abbey wrinkled her nose.

"That's disgusting" she said, and Wybie got to his feet.

"I should go. Cat gets kinda cranky if we don't feed him, doesn't he?"

"That he does…here, get him and extra something from me" Coraline said, giving him a blue note. He slipped it into his pocket with a smile.

"I'll tell him it's from you" he said, waving as he left the café. Abbey shrugged, and Robbie gave her a look that said 'I know, right?'

"They talk about that cat as if he's a person" Robbie said, and Coraline turned to him.

"He may as well be. He knows things that we don't" she said, with no elaboration on that point.

xXx

Wybie was woken up by a cold paw on his nose. He cracked open a lazy eye, and checked his clock. Ugh… 2.02.

"Cat…go away" he mumbled. Cat pushed on his nose urgently again. His breath smelled of fish. Wybie sat up.

"Whassamatter?" he groaned. Cat leapt lightly onto the windowsill, and the boy dropped into his chair, looking out at the window.

"Mmm…what am I looking at?" he slurred, and Cat looked up at the Pink Palace Apartments. Wybie also looked up there.

A few moments later, he heard a soft scream, and the light flickered on in the room that he recognised as Coraline's. He looked over at Cat, who blinked his big, sad blue eyes. Robbie had had a positive effect so far, but Wybie knew nothing could keep her nightmares or night terrors at bay for too long. He put a hand on the Cat's head, scratching behind his ears.

"Mreeow" Cat yowled, tilting his head to the side.

"I know…I know" he replied. The light turned off, and he saw her open the window in the dark. She leaned out of it, needing fresh air to fill her lungs, as she always did. He hoped she had woken up Robbie, and he was comforting her. He couldn't see another dark shape at the window, and looked at Cat for an answer.

The four legged creature leapt lightly off the windowsill and onto the bed, curling up and going to sleep. Reluctantly, Wybie crawled in beside him, pulled the blankets up to his chin, and closed his eyes.

xXx

Coraline let the cool breeze blow her hair about her face. She was hanging out of her window, trying to clear her head of the nightmares. She looked over at Robbie, who had slept soundly through her soft scream. Nightmares were always worse than the night terrors.

She could always remember the nightmares.

* * *

**A/N; Hmm...bit longer to write this one, sorry bout that. Umm...  
Okay, first things first. FOUR references in this chappie.  
1. is a CANDY reference  
2. is a LARNIE reference  
3. is a MONSTERS reference  
4. is a PSYCHOLOGY reference**

Also, can I point out that I only pay attention in psych because the teacher throws fantails at us if we get something right. I got two today. And stole one of Suzettes. YAY~  
ANOTHER THING; I have an urgent message from Suzette's Blue, who is a little annoyed at the Robbie-Bashing in reviews.  
This is her rant;

You make Robbie sound like a jerk even though he's actually really nice AS WYBIE SAYS TO LESTER AND EVEN ADMITS TO HISSELF! "It  
was true. Robbie was a nice guy." SEE? DIRECT QUOTAGE FROM FIC!! GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEADS PEOPLE! ROBBIE IS NOT A JERK HE'S A NICE GUY! YOU JUST DUN LIKE HIM BECAUSE HE'S GETTING IN THE WAY OF YOUR PRECIOUS CxW! *glares at you all*

**End of rant.  
I, in no way, support this view, but she said she'd eat me if I didn't put it in...so...  
I, personally, enjoy the Robbie Bashing. It makes me smile. ^^  
THANKYOU FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS~  
SLEEVES THE MUSICAL  
WE CAN'T ALL BE JOE  
Peace Out xx**

(I drank another bottle of Coke today, Mama...I'm sorry)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer; I only own Robbie and Lester. 3 Nothing else. Well, damn.**

~xXx~

Coraline spent the rest of the night awake listening to Robbie breathe slowly. At one point, he had muttered her name, but she didn't even have the strength to smile. At four o'clock, after trying desperately to fall asleep, she got out of bed, wincing as her feet touched the cold floor. She grabbed her jacket from the end of her bed, and pulled it on as she tiptoed down the stairs. At the front door she pulled on her big yellow gumboots, and stepped out into the cold morning.

Walking through the garden always helped her calm down, and sometimes she would scream so loud that even Wybie would wake up. She knew that the neighbors were sick of it, and her parents grew increasingly worried with each passing night, but there was no way to stop it. It just kept coming back to haunt her.

"Mreow"

She turned to see Cat sitting on her garden swing. She smiled weakly at him.

"Good morning" she told him, sitting down. He yowled again.

'_Is it?_'

"…no, I suppose not" she replied, picking him up and putting him on her lap. He settled down, pressing his body into her stomach to comfort her.

She could feel his strong heartbeat even through her jacket. "It was worse tonight" she whispered, and he head butted her chin gently. Hot tears spilled out of her eyes.

"It has to stop…Cat…and I don't know how to make it stop" she cried into his neck. He squirmed uncomfortably for a moment, then stopped, his tail curling around her wrist.

'_You're crying on me…'_

"Oh…I am, I'm sorry" she sniffed, and wiped her eyes. He twitched his whiskers in thanks.

"…Jonesy?" Coraline's head snapped up, and she saw Wybie approaching her, still in his pajamas, with his big black boots pulled over the top. She must have woken him up.

"Hey, Wybie…did I wake you?" she asked, and he sat beside her.

"No, Cat did. I just never went back to sleep" he said with a soft smile. She didn't return it.

"I'm sorry" she replied.

"Why are you out here? It's freezing" he told her. She noticed that he had about five layers on underneath his pajamas, and that the cold was biting at her face and neck.

"Yeah, well…I couldn't stay in there…not while she's there…" Coraline shuddered, and Wybie couldn't tell if it was because of the cold, or the Other Mother. He hugged her close to him, to keep her warm. She buried her face in his chest.

"I can't keep up with this…Robbie won't sleep through every night, and I don't wanna tell him…he won't believe me…"

Cat crawled back into her lap, and she stroked his thin back.

"…you should probably go inside before you die from the cold…" Wybie told her, and she shook her head.

"N-No. I'm n-not going b-back in there" she chattered, and he sighed.

"Then…come back to my place…just get out of the cold, Coraline" he pleaded, and she let him drag her back to his house.

"Wybourne?" They heard Wybie's Gran call. He winced.

"Yeah, it's me…I brought Coraline over"

"…it's 4.30 in the morning…oh, I don't understand you young people…" She pattered back into her own room, and Wybie took Coraline into his room. She sat on his bed, and he draped an extra blanket over her shoulders. She smiled in thanks, and pulled it closer around her.

"Jonesy…get some sleep" he said softly, and she shook her head.

"No…Every time I close my eyes, she's there…" she whispered, and he gave her a look.

"You need to get some sleep…Robbie's gonna notice if you doze off on your date…"

"I have a date with Robbie today?" she asked, laying down on his bed. He pulled himself up onto the windowsill.

"I dunno, do you?"

"…I don't think so…I think Abbey wanted to have a girls day today, actually" she mumbled, closing her eyes. He smiled at her, slipping into sleep. When she didn't answer the next question he asked, Wybie sat on the floor with his back against the wall. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep soon afterwards. Cat sat on the windowsill, watching over the both of them, twitching his whiskers occasionally.

~xXx~

Wybie woke up way before Coraline did, and the sight of her, curled up on his bed made him smile. Her arm had trapped Cat, who threw him a 'Help Me' look.

"Stay with Jonesy for a while" he whispered, and Cat glared at him, but stopped struggling and settled down. The end of his tail flicked in annoyance.

He heard someone knock at the door and leapt to his feet. He ran to through the house, and answered it.

"Is Coraline here?" It was Robbie, and he didn't look impressed.

"Uhh, yeah…but she's sleeping right now" Wybie replied sleepily. The taller boy crossed his arms.

"Where is she?" he demanded, stepping into the house. Wybie pointed.

Robbie stormed into the room, and whipped around.

"Why is my girlfriend in your bed, Wybourne?" he snarled. The other boy was suddenly very aware of his situation, and snapped out of his sleepy state.

"Because I found her wandering around in the garden, and she refused to go back to her place, so I let her crash here" he stated quickly.

"What was she doing in the gardens?"

"It's not my place to tell you" Wybie retorted, crossing his arms and leaning casually against his door. Robbie glared at him for a moment, before he sat on the bed. Cat hissed at him, but couldn't move. Robbie just patted his head.

"Hey, cat" he said, and Cat glared back at him, ears flattened against his skull.

He then gave Coraline a gentle shake. It took a while to wake her up, but when she did, she sat up, covering her mouth as a little scream of fright slipped out. Wybie gave her an apologetic look.

"Coraline…why are you in _his_ bed?" Robbie asked, and she was aware of just how angry he was.

"I…uh…why am I in your bed?" she looked up at her friend, who raised an eyebrow.

"You were…sleepwalking again" Wybie said, and Coraline's eyes showed her gratitude for his quick thinking.

"…again?" she asked, and he nodded.

"You refused to go back to your house, so I brought you here again"

"Wait…_again_?" Robbie asked, looking between the two.

"Yeah…I do it quite a lot, actually"

"I never knew that" her boyfriend stated, pulling her into a gentle hug. She smiled into his shoulder.

"It only started happening after she came here" Wybie put in, and Robbie nodded.

"Oh…hey, sorry, Wybie. I shouldn't have snapped" he said, and the other boy nodded.

"S'alright. I understand. I'd be pissed too"

"…You wanna go home?" Robbie asked Coraline, who sighed.

"I have to. I'm leaving you here with Wybie today, because Abbey wants a girls day. First-weekend-of-holidays tradition, or something stupid like that…" she said, kissing his cheek. She leapt to her feet, and ran to Wybie.

"I'll see you guys later, kay?" she said, kissing his cheek as well, and then she darted out of the room, and out the front door.

Robbie stood up.

"Well, I'm meeting Lester in town today, so looks like you're on your own-"

"Listen…I'm not stupid. I know you like her" he started, and Wybie gave a short laugh.

"She's my best friend-"

"Not like that. The same way I do. And my point is, that I got there first. Don't try anything with _my_ girlfriend, you hear?"

Wybie raised an eyebrow.

"I really don't know what you're talking about…"

"Wybie…I'm not a moron. I know you like her, and I'm telling you that you were too late. You had _years_ to tell her, and you didn't"

"…" Wybie opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Robbie lifted his chin arrogantly.

"That's what I thought" he said, and followed Coraline out of the house, leaving Wybie by himself. He sank into his bed, and pulled the covers over him. Cat settled down beside him.

_Would you like me to scratch out his eyes?_

"…That would be nice" Wybie replied without thinking.

Cat twitched his whiskers, and purred in amusement.

_Alright then…anything else while I'm blinding him?_

"Make it look like an accident, hey Cat?"

_Of course._

~xXx~

"Les…I seriously can't take much more of this" Wybie muttered, sitting opposite his friend in the coffee shop. Wybie had always wondered why Lester had never had a girlfriend. He was good looking, with tanned skin and big blue eyes, with long-ish blonde hair and a charming smile. And he could play music like a god.

"I can tell. If you've come to _me_, then you obviously can't take much more" the blonde replied with a grin.

"Who else was I gonna go to? Abbey? No bloody way" he leaned back into the chair with a defeated sigh.

"So whaddya want me to do?"

"Punch him out?" Wybie asked hopefully.

"As much as it appeals to me, I can't knock him out unprovoked. And he hasn't done anything"

"Course you can…say you had a moment of inspired violence"

"…who are you, and what have you done with the real Wybie?" Lester asked, bringing his coffee cup to his lips.

"What do you mean by that?"

"The real Wybie doesn't get jealous, doesn't mope around and most definitely doesn't encourage violence of any sort"

"That was the _old_ Wybie. The _new_ Wybie is so much cooler" he gave a little grin, which Lester returned.

"Really now?"

"Yep. I'm also Batman, but don't tell anyone…"

~xXx~

That night, Wybie couldn't sleep. He was sitting on his bed, doing his holiday homework in the dark, listening to his ipod. Cat was with Coraline, or so he assumed. Maybe he was off doing the mysterious cat things that cats do. A little smirk crossed his face as he thought of attaching a camera to Cat for a while, and monitoring where he went.

He spotted movement outside his window from the corner of his eye, and looked up to see Coraline. She held Cat in her arms, and her face was pale. He ran to the door.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, as to not wake up his grandmother. Cat trotted briskly into the house, and she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

"I can't do it anymore…she's still there…I know she is…we didn't kill her, Wybie, she's just locked in…I can feel the house shaking, she's so angry" she whispered, and he held her tightly, rocking back and forth. "I need to leave…I need to move out of this house and away from her"

"Jonesy…calm down…I'm not gonna let her get you" he said softly in her ear, and his heart gave a little flutter as he felt her arms tighten around him.

"I- I know…" she replied. "…Thankyou" she let him go, and he bent to scoop up Cat, around the middle. He let out a little noise of surprised annoyance.

"Now, you take Cat, and you go back to your place. He'll keep you safe" Wybie said, and Coraline stroked the creatures head lovingly. He purred, pressing his body into her chest.

"I know he will…" she said, and she turned around and went outside, followed by Wybie. She paused for a moment, and put Cat down, then snaked her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.

"Thankyou…I'm sorry I'm so…well…thanks for being around, Wybie" she said, and he hugged her back, resting his cheek on her hair. _Just do it, you bloody pussy._

"…Jonesy…?"

"Hmm?" _Three freaking words. Just three words._

"I…love you" he whispered in her ear.

He felt her freeze in shock, and wasn't sure whether he regretted saying it, or whether it was a weight off of his shoulders. She slowly unhooked her arms, and looked up at him. His body relaxed instantly when he saw that she was smiling.

"Thanks Wybie, I love you too…" she replied, and his heart sank when he realized that she had taken his words the wrong way. She leaned up on tiptoes, and pecked him lightly on the cheek, bent to pick up Cat, gentler than Wybie had done before.

She cradled him to her chest, and turned back to the Pink Palace with a small smile on her lips. He was left alone out the front of his house in his pajamas, feeling like shit. He'd just confessed his feelings to her, and she'd replied with the happy little 'I love you' that she exchanged with Lester and Abbey. He groaned, and gave a rock a good kick in frustration before he headed inside.

~xXx~

Coraline crawled into her bed, and Cat gave her a look as he crawled under her arm. She hugged him.

_Wybie said 'I love you'…_

That shouldn't…it wasn't sposed to-…She had Robbie. That's right. She had Robbie, and he was her _boyfriend_. If it had taken Wybie this long to realise what he was feeling for her, then it was his loss.

_Oh God…how cliché, _she groaned, and Cat cracked open an eye.

"He said…'I love you', Cat…" she whispered, scratching his head. He gave her a look.

_'Well duh'_

* * *

**A/N; W.o.w. I am _so_ very sorry for taking so bloody long. School just gets harder the older you get. Who woulda guessed? =\  
SO, about this chappie...umm...yeah. I got nothing. I woke up, like ,half an hour ago, and can't even think straight. I think I had curry pasta for breakfast...and Coke Zero. And then my grandmother fried a spider with the pancakes.  
...yeeeah...**

Thanks to everyone for reviewing, I'm gonna start working on a new chapter right away! And then the NEXT Coraline fic that I write will be ALL Cat...from his point of view and everything. ^^ Can't wait, that'll be so much fun!

R&R, and please forgive me for taking too long. :\

- Knut


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer; I only own Robbie, Lester and Abbey. =[**

"Wybie, calm down"

"How the fuck can you say 'calm down'? I am so fucking pissed off right now"

"I can tell" Lester quipped, placing his guitar in the closet, out of harms way. His friend was sitting at his desk, gripping his head as if he were trying to collapse his skull.

"I actually said it. And she went and dismissed it as if I said it all the time" he growled, lashing out at the desk. His foot started to throb, and he bit back another profanity. He didn't usually swear. Normally the words left a disgusting taste on his tongue. Now he was in too much of a bad mood to care.

Lester stood on the opposite side of the room, leaning casually against his doorframe with his arms crossed. He was in dark jeans, and a green long sleeved shirt with a little black stain on one of the sleeves. Wybie was dressed in his usual black.

"So did you only come over so you could kick my stuff and swear at me?"

"Les, not now…"

"I'm just saying, you have your own stuff you can kick" the blonde shrugged, undoing his ponytail and redoing it.

"…Sorry…I just couldn't stay there with them being all…lovey-dovey out in the garden. Even Cat ran off"

"Why'd you come to me? You have more luck with girls than I do" he said, and Wybie rolled his eyes.

"I've said it before, where else am I gonna go?"

"What about your Cat?" Lester asked, raising an eyebrow. Wybie couldn't tell whether he was being serious or not.

**~xXx~**

"Coraline…c'mere" Robbie was sitting on her bed, while she sat at her computer desk, staring at the monitor. She'd changed the wallpaper from the picture of her and Wybie to one of her and Robbie, at his request. She snapped her head around.

"Hmm?"

"C'mere" he repeated, and she sat beside him, smiling weakly as he put one arm around her waist.

"Mmm?"

"Kiss me…please" Robbie asked, and Coraline was all to happy to oblige. Get Wybie out of her head.

She took his face in her hands, firmly pressing her mouth to his. She felt him freeze in shock, and forced her tongue into his mouth. She could taste him. He tasted really good...

As soon as her tongue touched his, his body relaxed, almost immediately. She felt his hands, one on the small of her back, the other in her hair. He was a good kisser...why had she never kissed him like this before? One of his fingers was drawing circles on her back, something she found oddly relaxing, making a little noise in her throat. He pulled her a little closer, but she broke off the kiss, needing to breathe.

What would it be like to kiss Wybie? Like, properly? _No, don't go there, Coraline…you have Robbie right in front of you, willing to love you and care for you. You don't need any more than that. Wybie will always be just a friend._

Her train of thought was cut short as he kissed her again. Gently, one hand cupping her cheek, his thumb tracing little circles on her skin. The other hand was still on her hip, and she felt a gentle pressure there. Her arms - they must have done it of their own accord - snaked around his neck, which he seemed to take as an okay to go a little further.

She broke the kiss, but he just kissed her cheek, then her jaw, then he planted a few little kisses on her neck before she pulled his face back up to hers. Coraline could feel him smiling into her kiss, and she gave him a little push, until he was laying down. She worked it so that she was sitting on his stomach, her hands on his chest.

He seemed to like that, and he became a little more forceful, a little more bold. She felt a hand slide up the back of her shirt, and she tensed up. He felt it, and gently did the circle thing on her back again. This time, on her bare skin, it gave her goosebumps, and after a moment or two, she relaxed. And like that, his hand was gone, both of them holding her face gently. She looked into his soft brown eyes with a smile.

"You always seem to know how to cheer me up" she said, resting her chin on his chest. He smiled back at her.

"I try" he replied, and placed a little kiss on her lips. She made a little noise, and kissed him again. She could hear someone coming up the stairs, but she didn't really care. He had her undivided attention right now.

"Corali- Oh my god" Charlie turned on his heel, and left the room. "MEL!" he called, and she came running up the stairs. Coraline hastily slipped off of Robbie, and sat at the opposite end of her bed, cheeks going pink. Robbie had a trace of a smirk on his lips when he sat up, and he gently took her hand in his.

"What's the matter?" Mel asked, as she got to the top of the stairs.

The two teenagers listened as they exchanged whispers, and Charlie poked his head back in the door.

"Robbie, can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked, and Robbie got to his feet, going a little pale. Coraline squeezed his hand reassuringly before he left, and then found herself in her room alone.

She spied Cat at the window, and he yowled to be let in. The teenager got to her feet, and opened the window, letting in a little blast of cold air. She had the heater on in her room, and it was nice and toasty. She wondered what Wybie was doing, because he only had an open fire, and it wasn't as warm. Cat sat on her shoulder, like a parrot, and wound his tail around her neck.

"Hello, Cat" she said with a smile, reaching up to scratch his chin. He twitched his whiskers. She carried him over to her bed, then lay on her side, stroking his thin back. After a few minutes, she knew every little bump in his spine, and then he would move, creating a new pattern for her to learn.

"Cat, I have a question for you" she said, and he tilted his head. "…Can you not speak in this world, or do you just know that you shouldn't, so you don't?" she asked, and he tilted his head thoughtfully. He blinked his wide blue eyes, and she saw his lips curl into a kitty-smirk.

_That would be telling…_

"Oh, come on, that's not fair" she said with a little huff, and he began licking his paw and washing his face.

"C'mon…tell me" she said, and he looked up at her. His big blue eyes bored into hers. "Please? I'll buy you the fish of your choice" she said, and he sat up a little straighter, kneading at her blanket with his paws.

She heard someone coming up the stairs, and gave Cat one more pleading look. The tip of his tail twitched, and he opened his mouth, exposing his small, sharp teeth.

"Now, where were we?" Robbie asked, throwing the door open. Cat snapped his teeth together, and turned to glare at the other boy.

"Hey! Cat, no, c'mon…that's not fair! Robbie!" she scolded, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Cat was going to tell me something important!" she said with a little frown. Robbie laughed.

"Aww, you're cute" he said, kissing the top of her head. Coraline scowled.

"Don't think you can just kiss me to make me stop being annoyed at you" she crossed her arms, and stood up. Robbie sighed, and Cat purred happily, twitching his whiskers. The boy rolled his eyes, and roughly picked him up around the middle. His hissed in annoyance, and struggled.

"What are you doing?" Coraline asked, and Robbie strode over to the window, and pulled it open, gently putting Cat outside. He glared through the glass for a moment, before dashing across the cold roof tiles, and out of sight.

"Could you help me move my stuff?" Robbie asked gently, and Coraline stood up.

"What? Why!" she asked, hugging him around the waist. He gave her a little smile.

"Calm down, I'm not going anywhere…your dad just doesn't want me sleeping in your room" he told her, kissing her head.

"Why?" she asked, looking up at him, and he laughed, almost nervously.

"Umm…because he caught us making out, and doesn't want anything else to happen…" he told her, and she felt her face grow hot, and was sure that she was probably bright pink. His laugh confirmed it.

"Oh…alright then" she replied in a small voice. She was only 15, sheesh…in fact, she hadn't even thought about _that_ in the whole time Robbie had been with her.

"Yeah…no 'funny business', were his words exactly. I was so sure I was in for the 'birds and the bees' talk, but I think that's a Father-Son thing, not a Father-of-the-Girl and Boyfriend-of-the-Girl thing…"

Coraline smiled up at him.

"So where are you staying?"

"In that room, the one with the creepy picture of the ugly kid with an icecream" Robbie replied, and she felt her stomach sink as he bent to stuff clothes into his suitcase.

"T-that room?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yep. It has a heater and stuff, I'll be okay. It's not like I'm back at home, is it?" he grinned, and she put a hand to her head. He frowned."…Coraline? Are you okay? What's the matter?" he asked, guiding her to her bed, giving both her hands a reassuring squeeze.

"I- I just don't feel very well…" she said weakly, and he looked up at her, understanding.

"It's okay, just lay down. I'll take my stuff down, there's not much, alright?" he said, and she nodded.

"I- I need to get out…outside…fresh air, and stuff…" she breathed, and he lifted her to her feet, and supported her down the stairs.

She sat down on the garden swing, breathing deeply. Robbie stayed with her for a while, then left to start moving his stuff. She brought her feet underneath her, hugging her knees, buying her face in them.

"Jonesy? You alright?" the voice made her jump with fright.

"Wybie…you scared the life out of me…" she said, and he sat down beside her.

"Are you alright? You're really pale…" he replied, putting the back of his hand against her forehead. She batted it away gently.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me"

"You're a god-awful liar, you know that?" he told her with a little smile. She couldn't help but return the smile, and shrugged.

"I tried" she told him, and he looked at her expectantly.

"So what's the matter? Is it Robbie? Is it _her_?" he whispered the last word, and it still sent a chill up her spine. She nodded.

"It's…both. Dad decided that Robbie wasn't allowed to stay in my room anymore, so he's moving into the room with the door…he wants me to help move his stuff…but Wybie, I can't go in there…I freeze up…" she told him, and he nodded in understanding.

"Do you want me to help Robbie?"

"Would you? I mean- No, I don't. I don't want him staying in there…she's just behind that door, Wybie, sure it's locked, but she's clever. She'll find a way in…"

"You could always tell Robbie about her…"

"No! I can't do that either…he'll think I'm crazy" she said, standing up. He got up as well.

"Sit back down, please, you look like you're gonna faint" Wybie said, gently taking her elbow and making her sit back down.

"He can't sleep there, not with her so close…what if she gets him, Wybie? To get to me?" Coraline hissed frantically. She was bordering on hysterics.

"Coraline. Stop it. Robbie will be fine. I'm going to go help him move his stuff, and you will sit here, and not move until one of us comes back, understand? You look ill, and the fresh air will do you some good" he ordered, and she nodded meekly, not used to him giving her orders.

"Good…Cat will stay with you" he said, and Coraline felt him behind her neck. She whipped around with a little gasp, not realizing that he had been there. He head butted her, trying to comfort her, and she pulled him into her lap. Wybie gave her one last concerned look, then headed for the Pink Palace Apartments.

He leapt up the front steps, just in time to see Robbie trying to drag his case down the main stairs. He dashed up them, and stopped it from falling. The taller boy gave him a grateful smile.

"Hey, thanks, man" he said, and Wybie just nodded, lifting the case.

"Crap…what the hell have you got in here? Bricks?" he asked, and Robbie chuckled.

"I don't even know" he replied.

"How'd you drag it through the airport? How'd the _plane_ take off with this thing on board?"

"Who knows?"

They successfully managed to carry all of Robbie's stuff downstairs, and they stood shoulder to shoulder, admiring their handiwork. It was then that the visitor spied the little door in the wall.

"Hey cool…what's that?" he said, dropping to his knees in front of it. He dug his fingers in the crack, and tried to pry it open.

"Woah, Robbie, don't do that?" Wybie warned, and the other boy pulled back his hands as if it had bitten him.

"Why not?"

"Coz…um…it's dangerous"

"Dangerous? What, has Coraline got a pet sea monster down there or something?"

"Yeah…a monster lives there…leave it at that. But don't touch it, especially at night, okay?" Wybie advised, and Robbie stood up, still examining the door.

"…Alright…" he said, blankly, then turned back to Wybie with a grin. "Thanks for helping to move my stuff"

"S'alright. I knew Jonesy couldn't do it" Robbie looked up.

"Why can't she do it?"

"She…um…okay, look, I'll tell you this, but you _swear_ not to say anything to her?" Wybie said, his tone serious. Robbie nodded.

"Cross my heart"

"Okay…and I'm trusting you by telling you this…Coraline is, like…phobic of this room. Something about it just gives her the chills. She won't set foot inside it, and she's not happy about you staying in here either" he said, and Robbie looked at the door.

"Is it the door?" he asked quietly.

Wybie gave a little shrug. "I don't know what it is…but don't ask her to come in here. She won't" he advised. Robbie ran a hand through his hair, and thanked Wybie for his help. Then he went to go find Charlie, and tell him that he'd successfully moved.

Wybie ran outside, and found Coraline still sitting on the garden swing, chatting to Cat, who was in her lap.

"Jonesy…he's all moved in"

"…Just brilliant…" she muttered.

"He's gonna be fine" Wybie said. She glared at him.

"No! He won't be fine! I have to go talk to my dad…" she declared, jumping to her feet. Wybie caught her arm.

"Coraline, please…she's not coming back…and Robbie is completely safe" he told her.

She wrenched her arm from his grip, and took his hand. His breath hitched in his throat before she tore off the black gloves he wore all the time. His hands were so small without them, she noticed. She held it up so that he could see the back of his hand, the few thick scars that marred his skin.

"See that? That was her _hand_, Wybie. You're scarred for life, because of her _hand_. Imagine what she could do to Robbie, if he's sleeping in the same room as her…" she pleaded. He pulled his hand from her grip, and pulled on the glove. He hated those scars.

Cat twitched his whiskers, and Coraline knelt to talk to him.

"Will you stay with Robbie?" she pleaded. The animal flattened his ears against his skull. "Please?" she scratched him behind the ear, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was glaring.

_Don't you ever do that again…_ He yowled, and she gave him a little smile, and kissed the top of his head.

"You're gonna make Cat sleep with Robbie?" Wybie asked, raising an eyebrow. Coraline got to her feet, and took a few steps towards him. She examined his face for a moment, and her eyes turned a little sad.

"Can't you just be nice to him?" she pleaded, and he stared at her.

"Jonesy…do you have any idea how much I _hate_ Robbie?" he asked, eliminating the space between them.

"I-…um" Coraline looked down. Wybie quickly glanced at the house, before giving her a small, light kiss on the lips.

**~xXx~**

That night, Robbie couldn't sleep. He wasn't really sure why. Sure, the camper bed was uncomfortable, and the heater in this room was older than the one upstairs, so it was colder, and the moonlight lit up the room. But there was something else. He rolled over, and his eyes spied the mysterious little door. It was bathed in moonlight, and there seemed to be something about it. It fascinated him. He threw back his doona, and crawled out of the bed, wincing as his feet touched the icy cold floor.

He took a cautious step towards it. Wybie had told him not to go near it. Another step. Coraline wouldn't set foot in the room...as if she _were_ phobic. He stopped, and just looked at it. The entire house was eerily silent. Then, the door gave a little shudder. He jumped back half a step, not able to tear his eyes from the door. It shuddered again. At the foot of his camper bed, Cat woke up. He immediately leapt to his feet, arching his back, puffing himself up. He let out a little hiss, and the door suddenly stopped.

Robbie turned to look at the cat, who was watching him, as if nothing had happened. What a bizarre dream...he thought, crawling back into the bed, trying not to disturb Cat with his feet. He finally fell asleep, and Cat gave a warning yowl, ever so softly. The door gave another little shudder, and was silent once more.

**~xXx~**

**A/N; Well, to make up for taking my time getting the last one up, I have this one, and the next one for you ^^  
Special thanks to all my fabulous reviewers, your comments make me feel all fuzzy inside... :D  
Thanks to Liette and CANDY, who both beta'd for me  
Next one will up momentarily...**

R&R  
Knut


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER; I OWN...nothing...T.T**

"_Jonesy…do you have any idea how much I hate Robbie?" he asked, eliminating the space between them. _

"_I-…um" Coraline looked down. Wybie quickly glanced at the house, before giving her a small, light kiss on the lips. _

**Slap. **

"…Wybie." Coraline began, bristling with anger. He raised his hand to lightly brush his fingers over his cheek, still stinging from her slap. "This isn't fair. To me, to you or to Robbie"

"You just…slapped me" he said, stunned. She crossed her arms.

"Yes, I did. You deserved it" she told him, and he let his hand drop. This wasn't about the slap. It went further than that. This…this was pure betrayal…

"You know you were the first person to even attempt to be my friend? That you're my _best_ friend? Without you, I…I don't even know where I'd be…probably that crazy kid who talks to his cat all day…heck, Lester and Abbey probably wouldn't have given me a second glance…" Wybie said softly.

"And…I can't help it that I like you. I'm sorry for something I can't control. But even if I _could _control it…I wouldn't get rid of these feelings I have for you Jonesy…" She could feel guilt creeping into her mind now. She made a move to hug him, but he pushed her away, and headed for his house.

She plonked herself down on the garden swing, and ran her fingers through her hair. Ugh, it was too long. She wanted to cut it. All of it, right off, so it was short like it used to be. Robbie came out of the house, and she stood up. He could instantly tell that something was wrong.

He ran down the stairs, and caught her as she threw herself into his arms, and cried into his chest.

**~xXx~**

Robbie woke up to something cold on his face. He opened his eyes, and found Cat patiently sitting on his chest, a paw on his cheek. It was almost like he was saying 'Can I go now?' But that's ridiculous. Cat's don't speak, in any way, shape or form. The dark creature rolled his eyes, and leapt onto the floor. He gave the door a cautious look before trotting out of the room.

"Good morning, Cat…can you do me a favor?" he heard Coraline say. He sat up as Cat gave a little yowl.

"Tell Wybie that I'm so sorry" she whispered, then she looked up, and smiled weakly at Robbie. She wouldn't set a foot in the room.

"Good morning" she said cheerfully, and he could tell she was faking it. He got up, and went to her, hugging her tightly.

"Good morning, Troll" he murmured.

"What are we doing today?" she asked him, and he shrugged.

"…How about you call Ellen? She's probably at home, living beside the phone" Robbie suggested, and her face lit up genuinely this time. The two ate breakfast, then took the phone up to Coraline's room, and dialed Ellen's number.

**~xXx~**

"Wybie…seriously…this isn't good for you" Lester pulled the curtains open, and Wybie hissed, pulling his blanket over his head.

"Don't be a bastard…close the damn blinds" he moaned. Lester chuckled as his grandmother muttered something about language as she shuffled past with her walking frame.

"Morning Mrs. Lovat" he called, and she gave him a sweet smile before hobbling away.

"Lester…let me be depressed in peace"

"No, you and I are going to see someone who can help you" the blonde declared, tearing the blankets off his friend.

"Oh really? And who would that be?"

"Our spy…someone on the inside…" Lester said mysteriously. Wybie sat up, the expression on his face a mixture of a glare and a 'You're-a-moron' look. The blonde just grinned.

"Well, get dressed…" he said, waving his arms and leaving the room. Wybie groaned. "And don't you _dare_ go back to sleep…!"

**~xXx~**

"Wait…this is…" Wybie's eyes widened in horror. "Oh hell no" he turned to make a run for it, but Lester snatched his hood, nearly choking the escapee.

"Get your ass back here"

"No way…no bloody way are we dragging _her_ into this" Wybie snarled, but Lester just pulled on the hood, and knocked on the front door of the house they were at.

"Hell- Oh hey, it's you guys! I was just doing my morning yoga, wanna join me?"

"No thanks, Abbey…we have a real dilemma here" Lester said. Abbey stepped back, and allowed them into her home, Wybie swearing under his breath. The blonde boy only let go of the hood when the door was shut.

"What's the problem?" Abbey asked, sitting down on her couch, and the boys sat on the one opposite.

"Wybie here just got rejected by Jonesy" the musician jabbed his finger in his friends direction.

"Oh, baby, are you doing okay?" Abbey asked, leaning forward to put a hand on his knee.

Wybie slapped it away.

"I'm fine, I don't know what-"

"Bullshit you're fine. I had to drag him out of bed. It was pathetic really" Wybie's fist collided with Lester's shoulder.

"Have _you_ ever been rejected by a girl, Les?" Wybie asked, and the blonde and Abbey exchanged a look. He was clearly missing something.

"No…never rejected by a _girl_, Wybie…now, back to the topic at han-"

"Well, what's that meant to mean?"

Abbey sighed, and put her palm to her face.

"Honestly, Wybourne…we thought you were intelligent" she said, with a little smile. He looked between them for a moment, and Lester raised an eyebrow. Then he got it.

"I _wondered _why you'd never had a girlfriend…!" he said, and the blonde rolled his eyes.

"Course I have. Don't be stupid. We're not here to talk about me, or my sexuality, we're here to ask you, Abbey, member of the mysterious and confusing opposite sex, to help out dear Wybourne in his quest to conquer Coraline Jones' heart…" Abbey giggled.

"Drama Queen" she quipped, and he shrugged. Then her face turned serious. "That would involve breaking up her and Robbie, I'm assuming?"

"Unfortunately, yes" Lester replied. Wybie rolled his eyes, and fell back into the cushions.

"Well, Jonesy is my bestest girlfriend, and I really shouldn't be helping you two ruin her first relationship…this can permanently scar her forever, you know. Us girls, we're a complicated bunch"

"I noticed" Wybie muttered.

"But, because I know that you and Jonesy could _so_ work, I'm willing to help…"

**~xXx~**

Robbie was grinning from ear to ear when they finished the conversation with Ellen, a look that was mirrored on Coraline's face. At the moment, they were lying on Coraline's bed, just talking to each other. There was a question that had been bugging Robbie for a while, but he was hesitant to ask about it.

"What's wrong? I can see it in your eyes…" she noted, and he smiled at her.

"…I just…I was wondering what's behind that little door?" he asked, and she rolled over to face him.

"Nothing…it's bricked up. They divided the house into flats, and it was done then" she lied smoothly.

He didn't believe her.

"Then why won't you go in there?"

"Robbie, please…let's not talk about this" she pleaded. He sighed, and nodded, but she knew it would be brought up again sometime soon.

**~xXx~**

That night, Coraline was laying in bed, staring up at her roof. She was afraid to close her eyes, afraid of Beldam. The incident, even though it was four whole years ago, had changed her life so much. She couldn't go in that room anymore, dolls scared the hell out of her, and just thinking about a needle made her queasy.

She recalled a time last year, at school. All the students were given injections. Wybie had held her hand in the line, telling her it would be alright. He'd walked her to the sick bay when she refused to go into the room, held her while she cried onto his shoulder. He was the first person she saw when she regained consciousness after fainting at the sight of the damn needle, his worried face talking with the nurse about her phobia. Ugh, she hated that word.

He really cared about her…but Robbie did too. And Robbie had gotten there first. But Robbie didn't know the new Coraline like Wybie did, and that's what she really needed right now. She needed Wybie, to tell him about her nightmares, and her fears. What the hell was wrong with her? Why had she slapped him?

Eventually, Coraline slipped into sleep. She could feel the house, shaking violently as it did every night. But this time, instead of shaking with her screams of rage and threats for revenge, it shook with her cold laughter. She was planning something...she had what she needed now… _What is it?_

She sat up in the dark, crying. A pair of warm, strong arms wrapped around her, and she hugged Robbie back.

"Robbie…thank god you're okay…" she whispered. He said nothing, just held her. She looked up, and nearly died of fright.

"You…your eyes…" she pulled away from him, and he just stared at her through his big, black button eyes, a little knowing smile on his lips. He tried to give her a little kiss, and she scrambled backwards, falling off the bed.

She woke up for real this time, with a little scream of shock. There was no Robbie, no Other Mother, and no Wybie. She was alone, in her dark room. She picked herself up off the floor, and climbed back into her bed, trembling. She could still hear her laughter. Was she going to get Robbie? Even if she was…Coraline couldn't do a thing about it. She couldn't set foot in that room…

**~xXx~**

Again, Robbie was having trouble sleeping. Cat slept on his feet, same as the previous night and, the same as the previous night, he was staring at the little door. He heard Coraline moving about upstairs, then focused his attention back to the door. It deserved all of his attention.

Same as the previous night, Robbie climbed out of his bed, this time kneeling in front of the door. Cat woke up, and watched him warily. The boy rapped on the door three times. On the other side, something mimicked him. Even though it scared the absolute shit out of him, he stayed kneeling by the door.

Cat leapt off the bed to Robbie's side, a warning yowl slipping from his mouth. The door shuddered, the same as it had before. He dug his fingers into the cracks, and despite Cat's efforts to stop him, he tried to pry the door open. A couple of black spiders crawled out of the door, but otherwise it was firmly locked. Cat pounced on a spider, but it got away. He chased it as it ran (Fast spider, thought Robbie) out the door.

He crawled back into bed, and was asleep before Cat returned with a spider, made of calico with eight little button eyes, clamped firmly in his jaws. He dropped it when he saw another, and made to attack. Too late. It sank it's teeth into Robbie's hand, waking him up with a yelp.

Cat caught the spider, and dug his teeth into it. The sand-stuff that filled the dolls covered the floor, but the boy was too busy examining his bite to notice. It was like a vampire bite, two big black spots on the part of his hand where his thumb met his palm. He rolled over, and went back to sleep, and Cat stayed awake for the rest of the night, an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

**~xXx~**

**A/N; Another one, done and dusted. I'm failing school for you guys ^^  
Thankyoou to Mama for beta-ing again. And congrats on reviewing before Liette too :D**

OH NOES! She's Baaaccckkkk! O.o  
Whut's gonna happen to Robbie?  
Who cares?

...not mee~  
R&R  
Love Knut  
xx


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer; I don't own anything, but like you wanna hear that.  
ON WITH THE SHOW! *flourish***

**~xXx~**

Coraline woke up the next morning, feeling as though she'd only just managed to get to sleep. She felt guilty, and horrible. Poor Wybie…she had been absolutely horrible to him, and she needed to let him know, in person, that she was sorry. That she wanted things to go back to normal.

She tiptoed out of her room (Is was still dark outside, 4.30am) and pulled on her boots, and a jacket. She spied something dark flicker by the entrance to the room Robbie was staying in, and she felt her heart jump into her throat. Cat gave a little meow, and she relaxed.

"Go back to sleep" she whispered. He tipped his head sideways.

"I'm going to see Wybie" she told him, and even from the distance that she was, she could hear his purr of satisfaction. She opened the door and wandered into the garden, heading for Wybie's house. She gently tapped on his window, and he woke up with a start.

He frowned a little when he saw her, and opened the window.

"…it's 4.30..." he moaned, and she fought back tears.

"I-I know…and I'm sorry…but I need to talk to you…please" she whispered, and he sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat.

When he unlocked the front door, the first thing she did was throw her arms around him.

"I'm sorry!" she whispered, and it was a wonder he heard her at all, her voice muffled because she'd buried her face in his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Wybie…I should never have slapped you, or…hurt you, and I'm _so_ sorry…" she whined.

With a gentle sigh, Wybie hugged her back. He was so mad at her, for slapping him, for hurting him, for choosing Robbie over him…  
"Hey Jonesy…I'm here" he slurred, still half asleep. She was surprised to find herself smiling into his shoulder.

"I just…I had a nightmare" she said, looking up at him.

"What about?"  
"…Robbie and…_her_" she told him, and he pulled her inside the house, out of the cold. She sat on one end of his bed, and told him about the Beldam's cruel laughter, and Robbie's button eyes, and how they had terrified her.

He sat opposite her and listened patiently, as he always did. She didn't seem to notice that he fought to keep his warm brown eyes open. She stretched out on the bed, her head in his lap, and he sighed.

"…you know you're just making this all the more difficult for me, right?" he told her gently, and she sat up.

"Sorry…" she mumbled, pulling her feet up underneath her. He sighed. "It's not gonna be the same, is it?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Nope…"

"Hmm…" she replied. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again.

"You don't want Robbie catching you here again…"

"…Yeah…especially considering Abbey wants to go out today…I should go hope and…_try_ to sleep" she said, looking completely dejected.

He gave her a gentle hug.

"Mhmm…do that" he replied, dangerously close to falling asleep on her shoulder. She giggled a little.

"Wybie…Wyyyybie…" He'd dozed off. She gave him a gentle push, and he curled up on his bed.

Coraline let herself out with a little smile, and dashed back to her own house, the cold biting at her skin. She dashed up the stairs and jumped into her bed, pulling her blanket up to her chin with a little smile on her face, and closing her eyes.

**~xXx~**

**Wake up, little one…**

Robbie woke up in a brilliant mood, and he actually jumped out of bed. He had had the strangest of dreams. Creepy spiders biting him in the middle of the night. He looked at his hand. Nothing. He made his way to the kitchen and poured a decent glass of orange juice, whistling as he did so.

"You're cheerful this morning" Mel commented, placing a piece of toast in the toaster. He grinned.

"Yup. Dunno why though. Where's Coraline?"

"Still asleep…I think she had a bad night" Mel said gently. Nothing could ruin Robbie's mood.

"I'll go wake her up…she said she was meeting Abbey today, and she'll be upset if she misses that…"

"Yes, I suppose that's true…" Mel said, although she seemed reluctant to wake Coraline up. Robbie finished his orange juice, licked his lips, and put the glass in the sink before dashing up the stairs.

He knocked on the door, and then bounded into the room. His girlfriend sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"…Robbie?" she asked sleepily. He slipped under the covers with her, and hugged her tight.

"Good morning" he grinned into her ear, and she gave a little smile.

"Good morning to you too…why are you so happy?" she asked, and he kissed her quickly on the lips.

"I dunno…happy to see you?" he grinned, and she rolled her eyes.

"Buttkisser" she giggled, playing with his hair. He moved in to whisper something in her ear, and she yelped in surprise when he nibbled on her ear.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" she asked, and he grinned.

"…aren't you late for meeting Abbey?" he whispered.

She yelped again, and threw back the covers, leaping out of her bed as Robbie just laughed. She snatched up her clothes and her towel, then made a dash for the bathroom. After the quickest shower of her life, Coraline ran back into her room, drying her hair with her towel.

Robbie was still laying on her bed, a stupid smile on his face.

"Don't you look at me like that" she said with a smirk, and he just grinned back at her.

"Don't you like the way I look?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. She was always amazed whenever he did that…it was a skill not many people could do…

"Not when you look like an idiot" she replied, attacking her eyes with mascara, swearing mildly when she poked herself in the eye.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sitting up, and she nodded, blinking back the tears that threatened to make her eyeliner run.

"I'm fine…but it's mornings like these that I wonder why the hell I bother with this stuff…"

"_I _think you're beautiful" he said, and she rolled her eyes.

**How cliché, surely you can do better than that…?**

Robbie smiled at the voice in his ear. He'd been hearing it all morning, whispering sweet nothings to him, as though she was merely observing and commenting on every aspect of his life. It was she who had told him that orange juice would be nice…and it was.

"Well, _I_ think you're being a suck-up" Coraline replied. She threw the mascara in the box, and picked up her phone (Even if she couldn't rely on her parents to get her what she wanted for her birthday, grandparents always came through for her).

"I'm off, see you later" she said, hugging him around the waist.

**Why don't you kiss her? Tell her how much you Love her?**

Robbie pressed his lips against hers firmly, and his arms were around her waist. He pulled her right into him, smirking a tiny bit. She broke away, a little smile flitting across her face, then ran down the stairs.

**Very well done, my pet, very well done…**

**~xXx~**

Abbey threw her hand in the air so that Coraline could see where she was sitting. Their coffee shop was a lot more crowded in the winter, and everyone being on school holidays didn't help. The blue haired teenager dropped into the seat opposite her bubbly friend, placing her bag and coffee on the small round table between them.

"Morning" she sighed, fixing her hairclip.

"Wow…honey, you look exhausted…are you alright?" Abbey asked, and Coraline smiled at her friends' genuine concern.

"I'm fine, really. I just didn't get much sleep last night" she took a sip of her coffee.

"No, it's not fine…you look worse than you normally do after a bad night…" Abbey put a hand on Coraline's knee, her wide eyes swimming with worry. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I- I know, and believe me when I say I'm fine…" she put her coffee down. She couldn't tell anyone…not quite yet. She hadn't even told _Robbie…_

"Is it Robbie?" Abbey asked, and Coraline momentarily wondered if she could read minds. "He's not pressuring you into anything, is he?"

"What? No!" she laughed. "Why is that the first thing people think of, honestly?"

"Why, who else asked about it?"

"My dad…he caught us…y'know…"

"Making out?"

"…Yeah…and he kicked Robbie outta my room. 'No Funny Business'…" she smiled. Abbey gave her a sly smile. Coraline brought her coffee to her lips, but stopped at the look.

"What?"

"_Did _you…?"

"_No!_ I'm only 15! I don't wanna be one of those girl who…I dunno, ends up pregnant before they've left school, Abbey" she said, pulling a face. The door opened, letting a chill into the little café.

"Hey, Lester's here…" Abbey said, throwing him a smile. He raised a hand in greeting, and joined the line waiting to be served.

"Wait, what?" Coraline whipped around, then turned back to the redhead. "I thought this was a girls day out?"

"It is. Honey, Les doesn't count as a guy…"

"I heard that, Abigail" Lester growled, sitting down. She smiled apologetically.

"Sorry…but you know what I mean"

"I'm still a guy…and it's a _guys_ help that you need right now, so I'd be nice to me if I were you…"

"Woah, woah, what's going on? What have you two planned without telling me?" Coraline asked suspiciously, taking a drink from her coffee.

The two exchanged a glance.

"We heard what happened with Wybie…" Abbey said, and Coraline raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? What did you hear?"

"He kissed you" Lester stated, and after a moment, Coraline nodded.

"And you _slapped_ him…honey, that took it a bit far, don't you think?"

"Does Wybie _know_ you guys are doing this?" the blue haired girl asked, and they both shook their heads at the same time.

"No…we're doing this because we want to. Did you apologise to Wybie?" Lester asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, I did"

"Well, that's a start" Abbey said, and Coraline rolled her eyes. She checked the time on her phone.

"Oh crap! I have a hairdressers appointment…I'll talk to you guys later, okay?" she said, jumping up. Lester grabbed her arm before she could leave.

"Just remember all the things that boy has done for you, Jonesy…" he said, and she stared at him for a moment, before he let her go and turned back to Abbey. She ran out of the warm coffee shop into the cold, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck.

**~xXx~**

Robbie was lounging around on his bed, listening to her gentle, soothing voice. She didn't frighten him, not in the slightest, only made him feel as though he was in a constant state of relaxation…bordering on the edge of sleep…warm on the inside and out, despite the rain that threw itself at the windows.

…**say a word…Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird…  
and if that mockingbird won't sing**

**Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring**

**And if that diamond ring gets broke…**

When she wasn't talking to him, he could hear her humming, or singing, or chattering away to someone just outside the picture frame. But she made him feel peaceful.

"Who are you?" he asked aloud, twisting a bit of string around his finger, amusing himself as his finger turned purple.

**You can call me Mother, if you'd like…**

He wasn't expecting that, and dropped the string. He sat up.

"Where are you?" he asked, and in response, the door gave a little shudder. He looked at it with wide eyes.

"Are you locked in?"

**Yes. But you can help me…you can save me, Robert…**

"How? I'll get you out of there!" Robbie declared softly, throwing himself at the door. He tried to pry it open. He could hear her laughing gently in his head.

**Really, darling…if the door opened like that, I'd be out by now.**

**Silly, precious boy. **

**Don't' worry, Mother knows what to do…**

He leaned back, and felt a pair of eyes watching him. He turned to see Cat at the doorway. He was arching his back, fur bristling, and he let out a little hiss.

**Ah, hello, Kitty…**

"Hello, Kitty…" Robbie repeated, and he stood up. Cat backed up with a warning yowl, then tore off down the hall. Robbie made to chase him, but he found that his legs wouldn't move.

**Leave him, my dear…he is a simple cat…**

**Now…about your dear Coraline…**

"What about Coraline?" he asked, and she laughed gently again.

**Calm yourself…I only want to see my precious daughter again…**

**~xXx~**

Coraline loved getting her hair done. She could just lay back and relax as they washed, straightened and cut her hair for her. This time she had decided to cut off all of her hair, so it was the same length as it had been when she first met Wybie and Abbey and Lester.

_Remember all the things that boy has done for you…_

Wybie _had_ done a lot for her. She knew that, better than they did. He was there at 3.00 in the morning to listen to her as she told him about her nightmares. He had been there to hold her hand when they were getting needles. He had stayed in the sickbay with her. He had even thrown all the dolls that covered the sickbay beds into a garbage bag for when she regained consciousness.

What was Lester saying? That she should leave Robbie for Wybie? Robbie would be crushed, and he still had another week to stay with her. What would he tell everyone in Michigan?

…could she actually go out with Wybie? He was her _best friend_…

But she'd felt her heart backflip when he'd kissed her. And it wasn't like she'd never thought about them before... She did it often. He was such a sweet guy, better than any she knew, and she didn't know where she'd be without him.  
_Down the well. _

What if they broke up? Things would never go back to the way they were…

Not that things would ever be the same anyway…

She swore softly, and the hairdresser apologized. She must have thought she had pulled her hair too hard.

"…Ugh…I haven't even asked the guy out and already I'm thinking about breaking up with him" she muttered to herself. Hairdressers have super-sensitive hearing, they pick up on everything.

"Boy troubles, love?" she asked.

"Sort of…" Coraline confessed.

"Hmm. Tell Jeannie all about it, maybe I can help?" she offered, and Coraline thought for a moment.

"It's nothing major…you probably hear worse than this"

"I'll bet. Means it'll be easier to help out…"

"I…um…I have a boyfriend…who is great. He really is…but then my best friend went and told me he had a crush on me, and my other friends say I should leave my boyfriend for my best friend, and I don't know what to do, because I love them both…and oh fuck, life's a bitch, and I'm not even _legal_ yet…" she sighed with a little whimper.

"Hmm, that is a dilemma. Well, weigh up the pros and cons. What happens if you stay with the guy you're dating now?"

"Umm…well, he's not mad at me for the rest of the time he's here…umm…"

The hairdresser gave her a look.

"That all you can come up with, hun?"

"…at the moment, yes" Coraline said, a little harshly than she had intended to. She didn't seem to notice.

"And the best friend? What're the pros to going out with him?"

"He'll stop being mad at me, and so will my other friends…and it just means he can't go anywhere…" _I couldn't live without Wybie…_

"…You said that 'he won't be mad at you for the rest of the time he's here'? About the first boy…what's up with that?"

"He's only staying here, leaves next week" Coraline mumbled. The hairdresser smirked a little at this fact. It was an 'It-never-gonna-last-girlie' kind of smile. They may know everything, hairdressers, but you can always tell what they're thinking, right down to specifics.

"So…do you _want _to go out with the other boy? The best friend?"

"I…dunno…" she confessed, and gasped when the scissors got perilously close to her ear.

"Sorry…well…compromise? That's all the advice I can give you, cause I think you're done, and it's busy in here today. Whaddya think?" she asked, and Coraline looked up at the mirror. She smiled.

"Thankyou" she said, and paid. Then she left with a wave and a spring in her step. She knew exactly what to do.

**~xXx~**

Wybie was sitting in the garden with Cat, patting him absentmindedly, when Coraline came running up to him with a wide grin on her face.

"Hey Jonesy…hey wow, you cut off all your hair…" he said, standing up. She skidded to a halt in front of him, nearly falling over, and nodded.

"Uhuh, but can I talk to you for a moment please?" she asked, breathless. He nodded.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Cool, c'mon" she said, taking his wrist and dragging him in the direction of his house. Cat followed curiously. She led them past his house, down the path to where the well was. Wybie was so incredibly confused.

"Jonesy, what on earth are you doing?" Wybie asked as she continued to drag him behind her.

"We're going somewhere" she said simply. He was getting annoyed.

"Where, somewhere?" he asked, and she simply flashed him a knowing smile, then went back to dragging him down the path. He noticed that she hesitated a little when the well came into view, and he wondered why the hell she'd bring him here of all places. Maybe she'd gone crazy, and was gonna push him down there? Maybe she wanted him to build her and Robbie a little housey thingy over the top of the well. He'd paint it white, and they could get married in it. He'd stand there, beside Lester...Best Man. The thought made him sink a little more into depression. But she seemed excited. Maybe she'd found proof of something...or a two headed banana slug. Man, that'd be cool.

"Jonesy, seriously...why are you bringing me here?" he asked.

"Because Robbie doesn't know this place exists, and if we're caught, we're screwed..." she declared, stopping, and letting him go. His hand fell to his side. She turned to him with a grin, and hugged him tightly. He frowned.

"Coraline, cut it out" he said, and she looked up into his warm brown eyes with a mischievous smile.

"You're being kind of unfair…" Wybie said, trying to wiggle out of her grip (She'd pinned his arms to his sides), and she stood on tiptoes to give him a soft little kiss. He returned it, his body relaxing again, but only for a moment. Then he sprang out of her grasp, as though he'd been stung.

"Dammit, Coraline, you can't do this to me if you're just gonna run back to _him_" he growled, not meeting her gaze. She just gave him a little smile.

"Wybie…c'mere" she said, and eventually he looked up at her.

"What?"

"I-…Would you go out with me?" she asked, and the expression on his face was a mixture of disbelief and confusion, and joy, and suspicion, and…dumbstruck. She smiled hopefully.

"Please?"

"…w-what about Robbie?" he asked, breaking his stunned silence.

"Well…I was talking to the hairdresser, and eventually came to the conclusion that I'd rather lose him than lose you. And...I only slapped you when you kissed me...coz I didn't want to hurt Robbie. He's a close friend, sure...but you were right. He knows nothing about me. You know me like the back of your hand...every little bit of crazy, and you put up with it too, which is more than I can ask of you..." Wybie could almost feel the scars on his right hand tingle. _Like the back of your hand..._so very fitting. He knew about her emotional scars, and helped her cope with them every day of every week.

"…you broke up with him?" he sounded hopeful without meaning it.

"Not…quite…but it's okay, I have an idea. When we take him to the airport on Friday, I'll tell him that I can't keep up a long distance relationship, and then I can come back here and be with you" she said, and he frowned.

"So I have to wait, and watch you date him for a whole bloody week?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Calm down, jealous" she teased, tapping his nose. He felt his face grow warm at the gesture. "I'm yours"

Wybie's face split into the widest grin he could muster.

* * *

**A/N;**

YAAAAAY!  
FI-NA-LLY! :D  
Okie dokie!  
1.) Thankyou to EVERYONE who reviewed, I've never EVER gotten this many reviews on a story before, and it's got me all giggly n stuff...although that might have been the coke...or the kerosene... :3  
2.) Special thankyou the ever wonderful CANDY-is-EPIC, for Beta-ing this one.  
3.) *kicks Robbie in the balls* Told yah I'd do it Mama!  
4.) Okay, I'm kinda annoyed, coz when I _originally_ typed this up, everything the Other Mother said was all pretty and cursive...totally added to the creepy...then FF went and screwed with it, and it's normal now.. =\  
5.) I get to write jeealoousss Wybie! Nya~  
6.) Apologies for lack of Cat in this chapter. I shall include him more as chapter go on.

Oh, and I just have to put in writing. When I die, Lester goes to Suzette. Because she'll eat me otherwise.  
Mama can has Demy, and Scourge, and Kimberly...  
Sami-chan can has Daisy, and I honestly think I own nothing of value...so if she can come up with something, then she can has that too!

R&R  
Love Knut

P.S; SAMI CAN HAS MY PLAYSTATION! IT'S PINK! :D


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER; MORII OWNS CORALINE...but only in her dreams~**

Coraline felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up into Robbie's warm brown eyes. He was grinning.

"Hey…looks like it's just you and me today, Troll" he said affectionately, kissing her forehead. She tried not to wrinkle her nose at this offending kiss, and smiled instead.

"Actually, I was gonna go out with Abbey-"

"Cancel?" Robbie said hopefully, holding out her phone. She took it with a small, disappointed smile.

"Oh…okay"

"It's just…I'm meant to be your boyfriend, and I don't like that you've been running off with your friends who you can see anytime instead of spending time with me…just a bit jealous, is all" he said sheepishly

**Mother does love you, Robert…**

Robbie gave a little smile, and kissed Coraline on the lips just as Charlie came through the door. He sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Robbie…come here please…" he said, and Robbie followed him out of the kitchen, leaving the teenage girl at the table to finish her cereal. She wiped her lips on the back of her hand in a very childish manner, but it made her feel better. Mel wandered in, a small smile on her lips.

"Coraline, sweetheart, we'll be gone all day, and I want you to be _responsible_, understand?"

"Mum, trust me, you have _nothing_ to worry about" the teenager assured her mother.

Mel sighed, and nodded, then got to her feet and followed her husband out the door. Robbie bounded into the kitchen, full of energy.

"Co-ra-line!" he said cheerfully, and she smiled at him.

"So, what did you have in mind for today?" she asked, and the mischievous look in his eyes said it all. He took her hand, and dragged her towards the room he was staying in.  
She stopped dead, and jerked her hand from his grip.

"Robbie…" she began, but was unsure of how to finish her sentence.

"It's just a room, it can't hurt you" he said, and she shook her head.

"Not in there…please…come up to my room instead" she offered. Mentally, she berated herself. _Stupid Coraline, think before you speak!  
_  
"…okay then" he bought it, and dragged her up the stairs instead. He could feel Mother's glee at Coraline's fear. It filled him up, and he let out a short burst of laughter.

"What's so funny?" she asked, as he opened her door. Then he turned to face her.

"You" he stated simply, as one arms wound around her waist, effectively pinning her to him. She smiled nervously at him. He went to kiss her lightly on the lips, but found her jaw instead as she turned her head. He didn't seem to mind, planting another little kiss on her neck. Cat watched at the window with a glare, and Coraline threw him a 'Help Me' look. He vanished with a flick of his tail. Robbie managed to find her lips, and her breath caught in her throat.

The doorbell rang, and she tore herself away from him, and ran down the stairs, thankful for the distraction. Robbie frowned in annoyance and sat on the bed.

**Oh, my precious…**

"What's wrong with her, today?" he grumbled.

**Isn't it obvious?**  
**She's hiding a secret from you…**

"What sort of secret?" Robbie frowned.

**A secret that has her reluctant to even hold you, dear boy,**  
**Let alone kiss you…**

"You think there's someone else?" his voice went a little higher.

**What was his name?**  
**…Lovat?**

Robbie scowled. _Wybie…  
_

**~xXx~**

"Wybie!" Coraline threw her arms around him.

"Um, hey…Cat said-"

"You saved me, come on in…" she said, stepping back to allow him to get through the door. He smiled weakly.

"What'd I save you from?" he asked, stuffing his gloved hands in his pockets.

"Robbie…he's upstairs, and he's decided to play boyfriend"

"What?" Wybie crossed his arms. She laughed softly.

"Jealous, much?"

"Yeah, well…there's nothing wrong with being jealous…"

"There's _plenty_ wrong with being jealous-"

"He's up there making out with you. I'm gonna be jealous"

"Say jealous one more time"

"Jealous." He said, poking her in the ribs.

"Jealous"

"Jealous"

"It doesn't even sound like a word anymore…" Coraline laughed, and she looked up as Robbie came out of her room. He gave Wybie a look.

"Who is it? Oh, you"

"Yeah…what's wrong with me?" Wybie asked, crossing his arms again.

"Nothing…why are you here?"

"Umm…to see Jonesy…?" Wybie replied, a little frown flitting across his face. Robbie walked down the stairs, and his arm was immediately around Coraline's waist possessively. She squirmed uncomfortably, and Wybie cast his eyes elsewhere, jealousy flaring up inside him like it always did whenever Robbie was near her.

"Robbie…" she said softly, and he looked down at her.

"Yeah?" he asked, kissing her. It caught her by surprise, and Wybie bit his tongue. _Calm down_.

"Please don't do that…you're just being annoying" she elbowed him in the ribs, not too hard. "It's just because you're here, and he gets possessive" Coraline added for Wybie's benefit, and he nodded, a slightly forced smile on his lips.

"…right…anyway, why's Wybie here?" Robbie asked.

"Jonesy and I have homework to do, and we were gonna go do it at Abbey's, coz she's partnered with Lester, but then you cancelled, so…I came here instead" Wybie invented.

"Oh. Well…you better…get to it then" Robbie said, and, after a moment, he vanished into his room. Coraline made to follow him until she realised where he was going.

She turned back to Wybie.

"You know, I think I've forgotten everything we've learned at school over the course of these holidays…"

"It's always like that…hence the homework" Wybie replied with a little flourish. She smiled at him, and the two of them climbed the stairs, trying to remember what they had learned last term. Her smile widened when she felt his arm around her waist, and she took his hand.

He squeezed it, and she brought his hand to her lips.

**~xXx~**

Robbie kicked his bed in frustration, as Mother cooed gentle, soothing words in his ear.

**Control your temper…**

"I don't _want_ to control my temper"

**You have to control your temper, Robert**

"Get the _fuck_ out of my head!" Robbie growled, placing both his hands over his ears in an attempt to block her out. He could hear her laugh at his attempts.

**Dearest Robert, you can't get rid of me…**  
**But I can get rid of you, so…**  
**If I were you, which it seems I may be, soon enough**  
**I would do as I was told…**

"…What the hell? Why are you even _in _my head?"

**I already told you.**  
**I just want to see my daughter again**

"Coraline? She's not your daughter…she's Mel and Charlie's daughter…"

**_Silence._**

Robbie gasped, and curled up on his bed, as small as he could, as the door gave a violent shudder.

**This is what you are going to do…  
And you will do it…  
_Or you will die. _**

**~xXx~**

"You, are out of your mind, lady" Robbie growled. Mother laughed.

"Y-yeah, you're out of your mind." _Get out of my head.  
_  
"I'm not gonna touch a hair on her head" he said firmly, his voice shaking.

**You don't mean that…**  
**Please?**  
**For Mother?**

"_No…_ Stop it…get out of my head, _get out of my head!_" She was scaring him now. Her voice had gone from sickly sweet to cold, not trustworthy. He could feel something tickling the back of his neck, like needles brushing over the skin. It sent a shiver down his spine, and goosebumps all over his body. He looked up to see Cat at the door, watching him curiously.

"What do you want?" he snapped, annoyed. Cat gave him a look.

"Okay, I'm sorry…" Robbie said, resting his chin on his hand. The skinny creature padded over to him silently, and sat in front of him, staring into his eyes intently.

"Can you keep a secret, Cat?" Robbie whispered, lifting the creature into his lap. For once, Cat didn't seem annoyed, only blinked in response.

"I can hear-"

**Don't you _dare_…**

"-a voice in my head…" he whispered. Cat pressed his body into Robbie's stomach, which was strangely relaxing.

**I warned you…**

"Yeah… I call her Mother…" Cat tensed. "And she says that I have to…"

He felt something in his neck…it was an awful feeling. Like thousands upon thousands of icy needles digging into his skin, piercing the muscle, severing the nerves. He gave a little whimper, and fell forward. Cat darted out of the way so he wasn't crushed under Robbie's lifeless body.

He fixed his blue eyes on Robbie, willing him to move. After a few seconds, in which Cat began to wonder if he had somehow died, and started to panic, Robbie sat up. He shook his head.

"Hmm…" was all he said, before standing up. He flexed his left hand, then lifted his right. It wouldn't move. It was limp.

"Damn" he cursed, and Cat backed up a little cautiously. Robbie turned to him, grinning maliciously.

"Hello, old friend…" he said, and Cat bolted. Robbie grinned, and went into the downstairs bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror.

He tried to move his right hand again, but it remained limp. He frowned.

"Damn this useless body…I-…oh…" he suddenly understood why it wouldn't work. In her real body, Mother was missing a hand, thanks to those two brats. She'd tried, and tried, but was unsuccessful in making herself a new one that worked properly. Even now, she was unable to send messages to her human body's hand.

He left the bathroom, and went up the stairs to where Coraline was. He filled with excitement with each step he took, and his human heart nearly burst as he opened the door. The two of them were at the computer, books spread out on the floor, and they both looked up when the door opened.

"Hey Robbie…what's up?"

"I _missed_ you…" he replied with a grin, and she raised an eyebrow. Wybie glared at him. Cat slipped in past his legs, and leapt onto the desk, trying to get Wybie's attention. He only got a little pat on the head.

"Robbie…c'mere for a sec, huh?" Wybie said, dragging him into the hallway without waiting for an answer.

"Look. We have work to do. I _know_ that Jonesy is…yours-" it almost killed him to say those words "- so you can quit playing boyfriend. Nothings gonna happen" Robbie smirked, and pinched  
Wybie's cheek.

"You know…I liked you better when you couldn't speak" he said, then made his way down the stairs. Wybie rubbed his cheek, a little stunned.

"Jonesy…" he headed back into her room. She turned to face him.

"Hmm?"

"…you didn't tell Robbie anything about the Beldam, did you?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"…course not. He wouldn't believe me" she told him, tilting her head a little. He rubbed his cheek with a little frown on his face.

* * *

Sorry it took so loong...I wrote this chapter so many times, I just couldn't get it right.  
Thanking CANDY for beta-ing...now I gotta get off the computer before Mother finds me =\  
I do apologise for Mothers speech...the centre button decided to take a day off =\  
R&R  
Knut~


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N; This chapter is dedicated to both my beta's, CANDY-is-EPIC & Suzette's Blue, for if it wasn't for you two this chapter would be up so quick (This is explained in my other A/N, but read the chapter first...don't just skip to the end...that'd just hurt my feelings). Also, I don't own Coraline. Well dayum.**

Coraline had never actually gone into detail about what had happened in the Other Mother's world. She'd never wanted to repeat it, save for the basics. Wybie only knew these basics.

'She made copies of everyone, and used them to try and lure me in. She wanted to sew buttons in my eyes, and got really mad when I wouldn't let her'.

That was basically what she had told him.

_I think I liked you better when you couldn't speak…_

"Jonesy…what does me not being able to speak have to do with anything?" he asked her, and she looked up at him.

"Why would you ask a question like that?" she replied.

"Robbie just said 'I liked you better when you couldn't speak'…I thought it might have something to do with her…"

Coraline seemed horrified. She looked at Cat, who twitched his whiskers.

"He said that to you when you left the room?" she asked, and Wybie nodded.

"Yeah, why, what's he referring to?"

"…the Other Wybie…_her_ Wybie couldn't speak"

**~xXx~**

Wybie was sitting on Coraline's bed, half in shock. The Other him had…_died. _  
She had never told him that particular detail…

"…Wybie?" she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I …_died_?" he asked, and she nodded shortly.

"Yeah…because you helped me…he helped me…even though- you know, he was hers…"

"You never told me that" Wybie looked up at her, two sets of brown eyes meeting.

"I never told anyone that…I don't like to think about it" she replied, kissing his head. A brief smile flitted across his lips.

"…Then how did Robbie know?" he asked after a while, and she sat on the computer chair.

"Are you sure that's exactly what he said?" her voice had become quiet since telling him more about the Other World. He nodded.

"Yeah, he pinched my cheek as he said it…"

"Are you suggesting that she somehow has control of Robbie?" Coraline asked, getting to her feet.

"That sounds crazy, but how else would he know?" Wybie asked, also getting to his feet. She wrapped her arms around her middle, and headed towards the door. Wybie followed, with Cat bringing up the rear. They could hear him singing downstairs…from the bathroom. Cat snuck down the stairs, and they followed, standing around the corner, so they could hear him. They peeked into the bathroom, and found him winding a bandage tightly around his hand as he sang.

"_We are small but we are many,  
We are many we are small.  
We were here before you rose,  
We will be here when you fall…_"

Wybie pulled Coraline away from the door.

"What was that all about?"

"The rats used to sing that song…in my nightmares they always sing that song" she whispered. The chilling lyrics sent a shiver down her spine. She had heard it that many times, but could never get used to it.

"Nightmares? Really?" Wybie took her hand. "S'okay Jonesy…we'll make them stop"

"They're not gonna stop, Wybie, they'll keep coming back, maybe they'll only stop when I move out, maybe I'll have them forever…oh _God_, if I have them forever, I'll go insane"

"Don't be ridiculous, you won't have them forever" he told her, and they heard Robbie continue to sing.

"_We have teeth, and we have tails-_"

"We have tails and we have eyes" Coraline joined in, her voice a barely audible whisper. "We were here before you fell, you will be here when we rise…"

"Coraline, that's just creepy"

"There's more" she told him, pulling a face as she reluctantly threw her mind back into the suppressed memories. "Umm…We have eyes, and we have nerveses, we have tails, we have teeth. You'll all get what you deserveses-"

"_-When we rise from underneath…_" Robbie finished from inside the bathroom. Coraline shivered, then dragged Wybie up the stairs, Cat trotting briskly behind. He sat on the desk, and turned his head to lick a ruffled patch on his shoulder.

"How did she get to Robbie?" Coraline breathed. She sounded upset. She may not have wanted to date Robbie, but he was still one of her oldest friends.

"Dunno, but we'll get her out, okay?"

"_Coraline! Robbie! We're hoooooooome~!_" Mel called from downstairs. The two dashed down the stairs (Cat remained on the desk - Mel wasn't exactly fond of the stray), and met Robbie at the bottom. He flashed her a wide smile.

"Welcome back!" he said, and Mel smiled back at him. Charlie stalked past, muttering to himself.

"Oh, hello Wybie…didn't know you were here…"

"Hi Mrs. Jones…" Wybie replied with a wave.

"What's wrong with Dad?" Coraline asked, and Mel gave a little sigh.

"Well, we got a call from our publisher, and he wants to meet ups with us tomorrow, but daddy hasn't finished his catalogue, so he doesn't get to go…just me"

"So he's sulking?"

"Basically. Now…who's hungry?" Mel asked, and the three nodded. She threw her hands in the air.

"Nachos it is, then"

**~xXx~**

Coraline couldn't sleep. Wybie was gone, he was at home, and the Other Mother…sorry, the _Beldam_ was just downstairs. She could be up here at any minute, and the thought terrified her. In fact, she longed for sleep…the nightmares would be bliss in comparison to the terror that gripped her now. She'd locked her door, but that didn't help ease her mind. Beldam was clever, she could get through a locked door.

A dark shape flitted across the window, making her jump with fright, a little squeak slipping out of her mouth, but she relaxed when she saw Cat's bright blue eyes. She slipped out of bed, and opened the window for him. Once she'd shut it, she locked it, pulled the curtains across then bolted back to her bed, throwing herself on it. Cat made a huffing noise as he narrowly avoided getting crushed.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, and felt his rough tongue on her hand. The gesture reassured her, and she rolled onto her side, facing the door. He curled up beside her, allowing her to pin him down with one arm. He purred happily - she wondered whether he was just doing it to calm her down, then decided that it didn't matter, because it was working.

"You'll stop her, won't you Cat?" she mumbled. She felt his cold nose touch her chin.

_Of course…_

"Thank you" she said, and closed her eyes.

'_We are small but we are many…_' The song floated around her head. She gripped Cat tighter, until he gently bit her hand, just to tell her that he couldn't breathe.

"I'm sorry…" she repeated. "You're a good Cat…"

The purring got louder. Almost as though he were saying

_I know…_

**~xXx~**

Coraline woke with a start as she felt someone kiss her head. She gave a little whimper, shying away from it.

"Hey, sweetheart, it's okay…it's just me…"

"Mum?" Coraline sat up, rubbing her eyes. Mel sat down beside her daughter.

"Yeah, just me…I came to say goodbye"

"Oh, the publisher…right…" the teenager yawned. She noticed that Cat was still asleep beside her.

"Has he been there all night?"

"Um…yeah, sorry, I think I locked the window, he couldn't get out…sorry" Coraline said quickly. Mel tolerated Cat in the house, but she wasn't aware of him sleeping in her bed. She was surprised when Mel scratched the dark creatures ears.

"You didn't have nightmares last night…maybe he's good for you" she said, and Coraline smiled. _Didn't have nightmares? I didn't sleep, and when I did I was too exhausted to have nightmares…_ she thought. Cat purred in amusement, like he could read her mind. Maybe he could. That would be weird… He gave a little cough that could have been a laugh.

"He's a good Cat" the blue-haired teen said, and Mel nodded in agreement.

"There's some fish in the freezer…give him that, huh? I'm gonna be late, so I better get going…see you tonight, Coraline" Mel got to her feet, and left the room. The girl smiled down at Cat, who bared his teeth in a feline grin.

"Oh Coraline? Don't disturb your father. He's put in his ipod, but don't go in there, or anything, kay?" Mel stuck her head back into the room to ensure that he daughter was listening. Coraline nodded in understanding, and waved as her mum left.

"Now…we have to figure out what Beldam did to Robbie…" she said to Cat, who blinked at her, then settled back down to sleep. She sighed, and got up, taking her stuff into the bathroom, where she ran a hot shower. When she came back, Cat was snoozing happily on the bed, stretched out like he owned the place.

"Aw, you're turning into a lazy house cat…" she teased, and he sat up immediately, that haughty look returning to his face. He twitched his whiskers, unimpressed.

"I'm sorry, you'll always be a feral stray to me" she told him, and he blinked.

_I should think so…_

Coraline headed downstairs to the kitchen. Robbie was in there, examining one of their family pictures with a confused look on his face. When he noticed her, he spun around with a wicked smile.

"I _missed _you…" he said, same as before, pulling her into a hug. She wrinkled her nose, and pushed him away.

"No more games" she said firmly, and he was silent for a moment.

"Everybody loves games…" he said finally. She scowled.

"Where's Robbie?" she asked, and he smiled sweetly. It was unnerving.

"…you're looking at him, silly" He went back to the scrambled eggs in the pan.

"I mean the _real_ Robbie…my _friend_ Robbie…" she said, and the Beldam laughed.

"I always knew you were a clever girl, Coraline…you must have gotten it from my side of the family…but you certainly didn't get your rebellious streak from me…it must have come from spending to much time with _them_" Robbie's head jerked in the direction of the picture. Coraline stood up.

"This is _my_ world…you have no place here"

"Is that any way to speak to your Mother?"

Coraline snorted. Hearing that from Robbie's mouth amused her.

"You're not my mother, you're an old friend. Nothing more…you'll be gone in a few days…"

"You'll be gone before then" he replied, turning back to the food. She frowned.

"What's that meant to mean?" she crossed her arms.

"All naughty children should be punished" was all he said. Coraline wrinkled her nose.

"How do you plan to get me back to your world? There's no key…" she sounded a lot braver than she felt. She wished she had that stone, the one with the hole in it. Or Cat, or Wybie…any would have made her feel not so alone.

"Maybe I don't plan on taking you back…maybe I don't want you anymore, you disobedient child…" Coraline scowled, and turned on her heel, heading back upstairs. Cat flicked an ear in greeting.

"…I can't take her seriously in Robbie's body, Cat…" she said with a small smile. Despite this, she sat down on her bed with a sigh, a little shiver running down her spine.

_We will be here when you fall…_

**~xXx~**

**A/N; Okiday. Well, I enjoyed this chappie, it was a little easier than the last one =\**

**EXPLANATION OF ABOVE A/N; I got it done so quick in comparison to the last one coz thanks to one Beta, I have no CASTLE to watch, and thanks to the other, I have no SANDMAN to read. And it's Friday night. What am I gonna do all weekend? Homework?  
****Pfft.**

**Kay, umm. I have new motivation for finishing this, which is another longer fic, which will be brilliant fun. Also, I have a oneshot in mind too, so yeah. Both are Coraline. So... Motivation. Yeah!**

**REVIEWS! Omg, I luff you guys SO much, you make my day with all these reviews. I've never had so many on a story before…my ego just keeps getting bigger, my friends love it!  
****R&R  
****As CANDY would say,  
****Stay Shiny xx**

**MAWREE~**

**PS; I'm gonna go make NACHOS now :D**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: And without further ado...**

* * *

Cat purred as she gently stroked his thin back, watching her worried face as they heard Robbie downstairs. He touched his nose to her hand, and she looked down at him.

"…What are we supposed to do with him down there?" she asked, and he gave a gentle 'Mreow'.

"Maybe we can visit Wybie…?" Cat shrugged. They both looked up as Robbie came up the stairs.

His head appeared from behind the door, a small smirk on his face.

"I'm going out"

"Out?"

"Out" Robbie said. Coraline got to her feet. It made her feel a little better, but not by much.

"Out where?"

"Out. None of your business where. I'll be back in a few hours" he said, then left with a wave. She scrunched up her nose, and threw her pillow at the door. She was braver when there wasn't a Beldam in the room, or anywhere near her. She wished she could have thrown the pillow _at_ Robbie.

"I _hate_ her" she growled, and heard Beldam laugh through Robbie's voice as he went down the stairs. Cat leapt onto the windowsill and stared out into the yard. It was raining today. She joined him, and watched as Robbie wandered into the garden, with a big black umbrella and dark blue raincoat.

"Where's he going?" she asked herself, and Cat sniffed and jumped back onto her bed, ready for a nap. She crossed her arms.

"…You could make yourself useful and follow him?" she suggested. He opened his big blue eyes, and did that funny thing he did that made it sound like he was laughing at you.

_It's __**raining**_…he seemed to say.

"I know, I know"

She spied the big black raincoat that belonged to Wybie, and smiled. She dashed down the stairs, while Cat just rolled his eyes and went back to sleep. She pulled the door open just as he shrugged out of his jacket.

"I just saw Robbie heading out through the garden…where's he going?"

"No idea. Just said he'd be back in a few hours" she replied, closing the door behind him. A cold gust of air swept through the house.

They wandered into the kitchen, where Coraline began to fix them both a hot drink. Wybie sipped at a hot chocolate, and she had her hands wrapped around a cup of tea. Cat trotted into the room, yowling as he leapt lightly onto the boys lap.

"Hey there, Cat…you've been hiding from me" he said, and the thin creature head butted his chin to apologise.

"Heh. I know. You've been looking after Jonesy for me, right?" He looked up and smiled at her. She smiled back at him as Cat yowled to confirm what had been said.

"How are ya, anyway Jonesy?"

"I'm okay. How bout you?" she asked, bringing her cup to her lips. He shrugged.

"I'm not the one with my crazy ex after me" This made her smile weakly.

"Yes, I suppose that's true" she replied. They were silent for a little while, just drinking to warm themselves up. Wybie broke the silence with a small chuckle.

"…This is kinda…awkward, huh?" he said, and she nodded in reply with a small smile.

"Yeah…I spose. I guess we just…we're just too good friends for this…dating thing not to be awkward…at first, you know" she told him, resting her chin on her hand. He nodded in agreement.

"…Yeah…bummer" he said. They were silent again. Noticing that he really did look disappointed, she got up and sat on his knee.

"Oh…heh. You didn't have to do that" he said, hugging her around the waist anyway. Coraline shrugged, a little smile on her lips as Cat snuck out of the room unnoticed. Wybie closed his eyes, and his forehead touched her shoulder as she began to play with his thick curls. They were longer now than when she'd first met him. She knew he'd tried to grow them longer, but his grandmother always insisted he cut it off.

"Have you ever considered dreadlocks?" she asked curiously, and he laughed.

"Yeah. But Gramma doesn't like it long, so I guess she'd flip if I had dreads" he replied.

"I think it'd look cool" Wybie looked up at her, grinning.

"You think?"

"Uhuh. It'd be very, um…sexy" she grinned back, and they both felt their faces grow warm. There was another short, awkward silence between them.

Again, it was Wybie who broke it. He leaned up to lightly kiss her on the mouth. He could feel her brief moment of hesitation, but he also felt it melt away almost instantly. The hands that had been in his hair before tightened, brought him closer to her, and his own hands moved from her waist to her hips. He felt her shift a little, and she became a little more forceful in her kissing him. He broke it off. Not his first kiss, that had been the last time, when she'd slapped him. But his first _proper_ kiss.

She gave him a look.

"…Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, cheeks going bright red. He shook his head.

"No, it's- fine" He noticed that his hands were still on her hips and his face grew hot as he crossed his arms. Her eyes lit up with amusement, and she took both his hands in hers.

"So what's wrong?"

"Nothing. You're my best friend…and now you're…y'know. More" he said.

"Is that…okay?" Wybie squeezed both her hands, and kissed her again. They heard the door open, and Robbie came in, soaked through. He pulled a face at the sight of them.

"Really now. You should know that I don't approve of this" he said, and Coraline gave him a look. One between disappointment and fear.

"I thought you said you'd be a few hours…it hasn't even been half an hour" she said quietly. He just smirked as he leaned against the doorframe, raincoat over his arm.

"So maybe my little trip was cut short by the rain" he shrugged.

"Where'd you go?" Wybie asked. Robbie gave him a look.

"That's none of your business" he said, moving into the kitchen. "But I will tell you to enjoy your time together" And with that, Robbie threw his jacket over the back of one of the chairs, and left the room. Coraline shivered at the threat, and Wybie squeezed one of her hands again.

"Ignore him. Her. It" Confusion flitted across his face, making her laugh gently, and she kissed him again.

"Seriously, though, what am I supposed to call it?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"I call him 'him', because it's Robbie's body. She's just an unwelcome guest. We have to help him, Wybie"

"Really? Do we _have_ to?" this question earned him a punch in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"Does that answer your question?" she asked, standing up and crossing her arms with a little smile on her lips. He nodded, rubbing the spot.

"Yeah, I get it. Come back…I'm sorry!" he said, holding out his arms. She looked at him for a moment before smiling and sitting on his knee again. His hands went to her hips again.

"Big baby" she scolded, touching his nose. He smiled and looked down. They heard someone coming down the hall, and Coraline pulled a face.

"Surely he should be plotting against us" she growled gently, before pressing her lips to his neck. _That outta piss Beldam off…_

She heard Wybie's sharp intake of breath, and looked up. A very tired looking Charlie stood in the doorway. She half-expected his eye to start twitching. Instead, he just gave them a look.

"…Um…Am I- missing something?" he asked, scratching his chin.

"Hey…Dad. We were just-"

"I don't wanna know" he placed his empty mug in the sink and headed back to his study.

Coraline laughed softly, and got to her feet again. Robbie leaned on the doorway. She jumped a little - how could he move about so quietly? The real Robbie sounded like an elephant most of the time.

"Can I ask a question and get an honest answer?" he asked. The other two exchanged a glance.

"That depends on what you're asking" Wybie said.

"How far are you willing to go for Robert?"

"…Why? What's that meant to mean?" Coraline asked, worry crossing her face. Wybie also got to his feet.

"Well, I'm gonna tell you how you can get him back" Beldam took the seat that Wybie had given up, and helped himself to one of the chocolate biscuits on the table.

"…What did you do to him?" The blue haired teenager asked with a little scowl, and Wybie took her hand reassuringly. He still felt a little jealous at her need to protect Robbie, as though she were still his girlfriend. He had to stop with these thoughts. They weren't good for him.

"Coraline. Sweetheart. Do you remember your three ghost friends?" Robbie asked, looking up at her. She seemed a little surprised, but nodded.

"What about them?" she asked.

"How did you free them?"

"I found their…eyes?" Coraline was confused. Robbie shook his head.

"Incorrect, Coraline. You found their _souls._" he said.

"…You took Robbie's _soul_?" she asked, horrified. The Beldam rolled those big brown eyes.

"Oh, please. Don't look so shocked" he said, and smiled Robbie's charming smile at her.

"Well…where did you put it!" Coraline cried. Wybie squeezed her hand again. _It's okay, Jonesy. We'll help him…_

"Somewhere that I've never been before…I thought it would be a good place to hide something I never wanted found" he smirked. _A game_, Coraline realized. Beldam wanted her to figure it out.

Her eyes widened.

'…_Wait, shouldn't the old well be here?'_

'_She only made what she knew would impress you'_

"You threw his soul down the well?" she whispered. Robbie clapped his hands.

"Oh, my clever, clever girl…"

* * *

**A/N: This chapter of My Favourite Troll was brought to you today by the letters 'C', 'A', 'N', 'D' and 'Y' and the number 'whom I love so much for posting this chapter for me because I have no internet and I REALLY need to upload'.  
That's right people. She gave me her PASSWORD. Your beloved Knut Case loves YOU more than HER PERSONAL PRIVACY. FEEL PRIVILEGED. And then review, because it makes her so happy. And, you know, if you don't I, CANDY (aka a beta and/or Shadow King) will come to your house at night and break your legs. Think of the legs people. :)  
**

**Okay, now she's also asked me to do a little shameless advertising here too, so here goes;**

**IF YOU LIKED **"My Favourite Troll" **THEN YOU'LL LOVE THE NEW CORALINE FANFIC BY** Knut Case **AND** candy-is-epic**:** "Unstitchers" **COMING SOON TO** A fanfic . net **NEAR _YOU!_**

**Genre:** Adventure/Horror  
**Summary:** "Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." -There was a time once, when there was a Beldam in every house. There was a time once when there was a Beldam to every child. We exist to make sure that time never comes again. We are the Unstitchers, and we would be honoured if you would join us, Coraline Jones. (CxW)  
**Any thoughts? **  
**No?**  
**Get lost, CANDY?**  
**Okay then. Stay shiny~ xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N; Knut is back, with temporary internets. It'll be back up properly later, I hope. Anyway, here I have chapter fourteen of 'My Favorite Troll'. We're getting closer to the end now… O.o**

Coraline really, _really_ wanted to slap Robbie. Like, _really_ slap him. No…she wanted to slap the Beldam. Dammit, she wanted to _kill_ the Beldam.

"You…evil bitch" she said weakly. It was probably meant to come out as threatening, but she was just that shocked. Robbie just smirked, and leaned back in the chair. He seemed very proud of himself.

"…bitch…you…" she choked out, as Wybie hugged her, and she could feel her eyes watering up. He was gone, and it was her fault.

"C'mon" Wybie said, taking her hand and he began to take her up to her room.

"He's not dead~" Robbie sang, and Coraline spun around, jerking Wybie back into the kitchen.

"What is the _point_ of this?" she growled, and Robbie stood up. He was taller than her, but the girl just glared up at him through tears.

"It's a game. An exploring game. _A finding things game_" Robbie smirked, mimicking her words from all those years ago. Coraline frowned, and leaned away from him, wrinkling her nose.

"Cut it out…" she said, taking a step away from him, which made him laugh.

"If you can get Robbie's soul out of the well, then he can have his body back…" Wybie crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe. Coraline frowned.

"And if I can't get him back?"

"Then you're stuck with me" he grinned, and she was silent.

"I hate you" Coraline growled, and stormed off to her room, Wybie hot on her heels. She kicked her desk, then whimpered because it hurt.

"Coraline, calm down"

"He's in the fucking _well_…Do you remember those days we spent dropping stones down that well? _So deep if you fall in, you look up and see a sky full of stars in the middle of the day_?" she was close to hysterics.

"Coraline, calm down…we'll just…um"

"Just what, Wybie? Go down there and get him? That's a great idea!" she threw her hands in the air, and sat down on the bed.

"…Well…Abbey's brother has the rock-climbing place? Maybe you could borrow some of his stuff?" Wybie offered, and she laughed bitterly.

"Yeah…sure…'Hey Abbey, can we borrow some stuff? I have to fetch my ex-boyfriends soul from the bottom of a hundred year old well…Oh, no, my crazy Other Mother threw it down there when she took over his body" she hissed, and Wybie said nothing. Coraline sat up.

"…Aw, geez, I'm sorry Wybie" she said, going over to him and hugging him around the waist. He patted her back.

"It's okay…" he replied gently. "I know that you're worried"

"Yeah…I don't know if we can get him out of there" she mumbled into his chest.

"…Neither do I" Wybie confessed.

"…I spose we _could_ ask Abbey…" Coraline looked up, resting her chin on his chest. The zipper was digging into her skin, and would probably leave a mark. She didn't really care.

"I don't like the idea of you going down there" he said, looking down at her, and she gave him a little smile.

"Don't really have a choice, do I?" she replied, and Wybie shrugged.

"Want me to call Abbey?"

"Yes, please" Coraline said, standing on tiptoes and pressing her lips to his in thanks.

~xXx~

Abbey skipped into the house, kissed Wybie's cheek, and then Coraline's and made her way into the kitchen. They exchanged a glance, the smiled in welcome as Abbey's older brother stepped through the door. Over his shoulder was a big black bag, full of rock climbing equipment.

"Hello Robbie" they heard Abbey say, and both dashed into the kitchen. Robbie was smiling at her.

"Hello Abbey, it's nice to see you again"

"Yes, you too…how have you been?" he was pulling a chair out for her. Coraline was stunned, it was almost like having the real Robbie back. The smile was so genuine.

"I've been very good, thank you"

"Coraline, it's like he's from a movie…you snagged a good one" she said with a wink, and Robbie just smiled, a little mischievous glint in his eye.

"Oh, Coraline and I aren't dating anymore" he said, bustling about making hot drinks for everyone.

_Shit…forgot she didn't know about that…_ Coraline smiled a smile that was half sheepish, half apologetic. Abbey was looking at her with and expression of confusion, disbelief.

"You're…not? Why?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"Oh, um…it's kinda…complicated" Coraline replied, and Robbie laughed.

"Don't be silly. It's not that complicated. I come downstairs and see you and Wybourne glued at the lips…how is that complicated?" he asked. Abbey was looking between Wybie and Coraline, almost like something you'd see out of a cartoon. Both had gone a lovely shade of pink.

"…Jonesy, come with me a moment" she said blankly, taking her friends hand and pulling her out of the kitchen. Wybie got talking with Abbey's big brother Doug about the equipment he'd brought over, and Robbie listened in as he stirred coffee.

"…is that true?" Abbey asked quietly. Coraline felt her face grow warm.

"Well, it didn't happen _exactly_ like that…" she mumbled, and was nearly thrown off her feet at the hug her friend gave her.

"Oh my god, _finally_!" Abbey cried happily. Coraline patted her back, and then tried to pry her arms from around her neck.

"Abbey…can't…breathe"

"Oh, I'm sorry" she squeaked, and let go. Abbey was a bit taller than Coraline, not by much, but enough that she could smile down on her, like a mother. _I have too many mothers_, the blue haired teenager thought.

"Thankyou"

"So you and Wybie are together now? Finally?" she asked, taking both of Coraline's hands. She gave a short nod.

"Yeah" Abbey looked like she was going to burst. She settled for a little giggle.

"Who's better?"

"Huh?"

"Wybie or Robbie? Who's better?" Abbey asked, looping her arm through Coraline, and wheeling her around to face the kitchen. Doug was explaining the equipment to both Wybie and Robbie. The blue haired teenager just smiled cheekily.

"Abbey…I don't kiss and tell" she said, and the redhead laughed as they walked into the kitchen, arm in arm.

"That doesn't sound too hard" Robbie said, holding up a clip, and Wybie nodded in agreement. He grinned at the girls as they came back.

"This is gonna be easy, Jonesy" he said.

"Yeah, it's not as complicated as it looks" Robbie agreed. Coraline wondered why he wanted them to go down the well so badly. What could possibly be down there that he might want?

Oh god. The key, he wanted the key. That way, Beldam could attempt to take more kids. She suddenly felt very cold, right down the bone. Her very soul was chilled.

"It's really not. But this is some pretty expensive equipment, so please look after it" Doug said. He thought for a moment.

"…Maybe I should stay and help you-"

"No, no that's fine, thank you Doug" Coraline said, and he gave her a look, but shrugged.

"If you think you'll be okay. Um, I have to get back to work, so…yeah. It was nice meeting you and…yeah. Coming Abbey?"

"Um, yes, I think I will" Abbey said to her brother, and Coraline walked them to the door.

"Bye…thanks Ab"

"No problems…please tell me who's a better kisser?" she pulled the big puppy dog eyed look, and Coraline rolled her eyes.

"Wybie wins, hands down" she winked at her friend, who giggled and skipped off happily after her brother.

"Wait till I tell Lester!" she yelled out of the car window as they drove out of the Pink Palace. Coraline laughed to herself, and closed the door.

~xXx~

Coraline had watched Wybie go home from the safety of her bedroom. It was raining again, wonderful weather for holidays, and the rain was slowly escalating to become a storm. She felt uneasy, all this rain meant that the well might be fuller than usual. Although, it _was_ boarded up, that might have stopped the water getting in. She climbed into her bed, pulling the blankets right up to her chin.

It was cold, and her heater was on, but it wasn't doing much. She had a pair of socks on her feet, and her warmest pajamas on, but she couldn't sleep. Cat was staying with Wybie tonight, and she just stared at her roof. What if they couldn't get down the well? What if they couldn't find him? Drowning was a very real possibility…Lester had once told her that drowning was the most painful of deaths. And there had been a lot of rain.

She didn't want to go down the well, but she had no choice, it was her fault he was trapped there in the first place. Guilt settled in her stomach, and she rolled over. And Beldam…wanting the key. In order to get Robbie back, she'd have to risk other kids like her getting caught by the Other Mother. Could she live with that? Then again, she wasn't sure she could live with losing Robbie, not doing anything to help him. And she really didn't want a surprise visit from his ghost, either.

A clap of thunder shook the house, and the room lit up with lightening, casting creepy looking shadows. She whimpered, and pulled her blanket over her head. The house was shaking. The howling wind made the windows rattle. She thought they might shatter. Footsteps, creaky floorboards. Nightmares. _Go away_.

Coraline started when she felt weight on the other side of her bed, a hand on her shoulder, and her grip on the doona tightened. _I'm dreaming again…go away…leave me alone…I don't want this anymore…_

"Coraline?" she heard the soft whisper, almost drowned out by thunder. She winced again, and the little ball she'd curled into tightened. Whoever was on her bed pulled the covers back and slipped under, beside her. He was warm, and his big, warm hand found hers, holding it tight.

"It's okay…you'll be okay" the voice reassured her. She couldn't quite pick the voice with the rain and wind, but who else would it be? She relaxed a little, and he just held her through the storm.

"Thankyou Wybie" she mumbled, hovering between consciousness and unconsciousness. Lighting lit up the room again, but she was already asleep, and didn't see the warm smile flicker across Robbie's face.

"S'okay, Troll…I'm here" he said gently. "No dreams tonight"

When Coraline woke up the next morning, she was alone in her bed. She rolled over, and stared at the photo on her bedside table of Robbie and Ellen. Beside it was one of her, Wybie and Cat hunting banana slugs that Mr. B had been so kind to take for them. She hadn't had nightmares, or dreams… in fact she hadn't had such a good nights sleep in a while. Then she remembered what she was going to do that day, and pulled the doona back over her head with a moan.

**A/N;**

**I really hope that it worked this time…apparently the first version of this ending was waaaay too creepy for what I was aiming for. This is weird, coz it was meant to be a sneak preview (without you knowing, of course, which is why I'm mentioning it now) of Unstitchers, and…yeah. **

**I honestly think I failed, but I'll leave that to a) You, my lovely readers and b) The Beta, Shadow King and Co-Writer of Unstitchers. She's kinda running the show with this new one. King of Creepy, and all that jazz. **

**And speaking of CANDY-is-EPIC, I apologise for her very enthusiastic Beta's Notes, or Shadow King's Notes, or whatever you would like to call them, in the last chapter. They did make me laugh, but…you know.  
****I assure you, she is not breaking anyone's legs. **

**Reviews are greatly appreciated…like, they make my day. **

***cookies to all who have reviewed so far*  
New Goal; 100 Reviews, which is more than I could hope for when this started out...heck, I'm scared about finishing this.  
I don't think I can top it by myself...**

**Lots of Love~**

**~ KnutCase**


	15. Chapter 15

Coraline didn't respond to Robbie's wide smile as she sat down at the breakfast table. Instead, she struck up a conversation with her mother about school. Four more days of holidays. Cripes. And Robbie- the real Robbie- was supposed to be leaving in three.

"Okay, your father and I are going to see the publisher again. We'll see you tonight, okay?" Mel kissed Coraline on the head, and Robbie on the cheek.

The teenage girl noticed the repulsion on his face when she did this, and it amused her.

"Be good, you hear? No funny business" Charlie said, closing the door behind him.

"…Are they always like this?" Robbie jabbed a thumb in the direction of the door.

"They work hard" she replied.

Robbie leaned on the table.

"If you had've stayed with me, you wouldn't be left all alone so often" he said with a smirk, and she scowled at him.

"I'm never alone. I have Cat and Wybie, and Abbey and Les"

"Of course. And speaking of Wybie…"

A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and Robbie smirked proudly as he took a bite out of his toast. Coraline let Wybie in, and he sat by her at the table.

"Good morning" Robbie said cheerily.

"Yeah…morning…" Wybie replied politely. Robbie stood up, and hoisted the black bag over his shoulder.

"Ready to go?" he asked, and Coraline nodded.

"Just a minute…Jonesy, can I talk to you?"

"Um, I suppose…but we don't want it to rain again while we're-"

"Please? It's important" he said, and she followed him into the hallway.

"What's the matter?" she asked, and he looked as though he knew what he wanted to say, but didn't know how to put it into words.

"Um…I just- I don't want you going in the well" he confessed, looking at his feet.

"Well, I don't wanna go in the well either…but I don't really have a choice, do I?" she replied, taking his hand.

"You could not go" His voice was so hopeful, she couldn't help but think how cute he was.

"I have to…Robbie's down there"

"I- I could go?" he offered, and she gave him a look.

"Wybie, you've been watching too many movies" she said, and he shook his head.

"Let me go…I'll find the soul, and be back up before you know it"

"No"

"I'm not letting you go down there"

"You have to"

"Well, I'm not going to"

"Wybie!"

"No- stop acting like a spoiled brat!"

"_You _stop acting like a hero!"

"This time, you're not gonna get your way. You are not going down that damn well" Wybie growled, and Coraline glared at him as though she were trying to burn a hold right through his skull. Normally, he would have crumbled under such an intense look, but this time he matched it.

"This is ridiculous" she told him, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her back leg. Wybie tried not to laugh; the typical teenage girl stance was something he'd only ever seen in movies.

"Why don't you flip a coin?" Robbie suggested, leaning against the dorframe and letting the bag slide from his fingers. He'd heard their yelling from the kitchen, and had also gotten tired of waiting for them.

"Good idea"

"Fine" Wybie reluctantly agreed.

"Your call, Coraline"

"Heads" Robbie tossed the coin in the air, and it spun for a little while before he caught it, and slapped it on the back of his hand.

"Heads it is"

"Best out of three" Wybie muttered.

"Okay, your call Wybie"

"Tails" Wybie said, and Robbie tossed the coin again. He caught it and, like before, slapped it onto the back of his hand.

"It is…tails" Robbie declared. Wybie smirked at Coraline triumphantly.

"This is the decider. Who's calling?"

"…I will"

"Alright…heads or tails?" Robbie asked, and he tossed the coin for a final time. Coraline watched it spin, and called 'Tails' just as he snatched it out of the air. He held out his hand, to show them the coin.

"Yes! I win…sorry Jonesy, but you're staying up here"

"No. Best out of five"

"Doesn't work like that, Coraline. And we're wasting time" Robbie said, lifting the bag. He left through the front door, and Coraline punched Wybie in the arm as she passed, following Robbie outside. It didn't hurt, but he scrunched up his face like it did anyway, and closed the front door behind him on his way out.

~xXx~

No rain, no wind, no sun. What a day, Coraline thought as the others fixed up the rock climbing equipment. She frowned a little as Wybie stepped into the harness, and made one more attempt at stopping him from going down there. He would hear none of it, and they pulled back the rotting wood that covered up the well.

"Wow…I picked a good spot, huh?" Robbie grinned, and the other two shot him a look. Coraline gave Wybie the biggest hug she could muster, and he returned it.

"I hate you" she told him, and he just smiled at her.

"Is that so?"  
"Yes. I hate you, and if you die, I'll kill you, are we understood?"

"Is this your roundabout way of telling me you love me?" He received a punch it the arm as a reply, shortly followed by a sweet kiss.

"Something like that" Wybie rolled his eyes, and slowly lowered himself down into the well.

"Eww…it's all slimy from the rain"

"Nice" Robbie said, throwing an extra rope down so that if he got in trouble, he could tug on it and they'd pull him back up. Coraline watched with a steadily growing horror as Wybie slowly vanished into the well. Every thirty seconds or so, she'd ask him a question, just so he'd answer. Hearing his voice confirmed that he was okay.

"Hey wow" The sound echoed. "I'm nearly there…I don't know if it's not as deep as we thought, or if there's just a hell of a lot of water…"

"Be careful" Coraline called back, and they heard his chuckle echo up the well. Robbie had scrunched up his nose because of the smell.

"If _I'd_ made it, it wouldn't smell so bad"

"Well, you didn't make it, did you?"  
"_Shit!_" Wybie cried, and she dropped to her knees.

"What's wrong?"

"It's _cold_…like, ice-cold" he called back up, and she sighed with relief.

"Don't _do_ that…"

"Yuck…it only comes up to my knees!" Wybie called, looking up. The rumour was fake - he saw no stars, just a tiny patch of blue, and something that was probably Coraline's head.

The water soaked into his shoes, and through his jeans, chilling him to the bone. But it wasn't deep, just cold and smelly.

"What am I looking for?" he asked.

"Robbie's soul" came the reply. He frowned.

"Okay…what does a soul look like?"

"A little ball…Robbie's is silver" came the Beldam's reply. He looked down. He couldn't see anything. Wybie groaned, knowing he'd have to feel around for it. He plunged his gloved hand into the icy water, and, after a while, his fingers brushed something. He gave it a tug, but it was stuck. He tugged a little harder, and whatever it was tore, leaving only a scrap in his hand.

"Hey Jonesy…I found your blanket!" he called. There was no audible answer, so he dropped the scrap of material back in the water and kept fishing around. It came to his elbows…he was gonna get so sick. He found several other things, an old coin, which he assumed someone had pinned a wish to, and even a little bone. Maybe Cat had dropped that down there.

Something thin, with a rounded end also found it's way into Wybie's hand…the button key. Despite being in the bottom of a well for a few years, the key was in perfect condition, hadn't rusted, hadn't broken. He slipped it into his pocket, and kept looking for the ball. He found plenty of little stones, but nothing like what Beldam had described.

After maybe half an hour of wading around in the water, Wybie was started to feel his toes going truly numb. Something brushed his fingertip, and he picked it up. It was small, the size of a marble, and shone bright silver. He could see movement inside it, and Robbie's face was clear for a fleeting second.

"Coraline! I found it! I found the soul!" he cried, and at the top of the well, she allowed a wide grin to split her face.

"Thankyou Wybie! Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!" she called back, clapping her hands as though he was going to throw it up to her. She looked up at the Robbie imposter, and found that he was smiling wickedly.

"Wybie?" he called. "You don't happen to have my key, do you?" Wybie scowled. Of course he had some sort of ulterior motive.

"I found it, yes…but it's staying down here" he replied firmly. Coraline got to her feet.

"Then so do you" Robbie called, and his companion scowled.

"He's not bringing that key up with him. It stays down there"

"Then you're responsible for the deaths of both Robbie _and_ Wybie…" Robbie replied with a growl.

Coraline dropped to her knees, and tried pulling Wybie up on her own. No use; she wasn't strong enough.

"They should call you the black widow…first two boyfriends dead in like, the same week" Beldam commented.

"Wybie? Don't you dare bring that key up"

"Wybie, if you don't bring that key up, then you don't come up. If you say you have it, but really don't, I'll let you go and push Coraline down too" Robbie said, his hand wrapping around her upper arm. She made a little noise in pain.

"Jonesy, are you okay up there?"

"I'm- fine" she called back. Wybie had a bad feeling in his stomach, and didn't believe her.

"Okay, fine…I'll bring up the key" he called, checking to make sure it was in his pocket before tugging on the rope.

"Are you _sure_ you have it, Wybie?" Robbie called, and he confirmed it. Then, slowly, Robbie and Coraline pulled Wybie up the well.

It took almost twice as long to pull Wybie up, in comparison to the time it had taken him to go down the well.

"Oh my god, Wybie, you're soaked" Coraline said, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her back gently.

"Yeah…I went down a _well_" he replied, kissing her head. She let him go, and turned to Robbie, who had his arms crossed.

In fact, he look very unimpressed. Beldam never lost games.

"Fool me once, shame on you…" he began, and snatched at Coraline's arm, dragging her over to him.

"Coraline-"

"Fool me twice, shame on me…the soul, Wybie?" Robbie asked, and Wybie pulled it out of his pocket. It glowed even brighter in the sun, like Robbie was thrilled about being out of the dark.

"Good…hand it over"

"What! But…you said!" Coraline growled, and Robbie snickered.

"I know…I lied" he said. Wybie handed over the little glowing ball, and Coraline felt angry tears well up in her eyes.

"…And my key? Tell me you have it, I really wouldn't mind throwing 'Jonesy' down the well…she needs to be punished for all the horrible things she did the first time round…"

"The key is in my pocket…" Wybie said, reaching inside and pulling it out. Robbie's eyes fashed with recognition, and anticipation.

"May I please have the key?"

"…I'd rather not…"

"You'd risk her life?" he asked, and Wybie looked torn.

"Don't give it to her!" Coraline growled, but deep down, she knew she'd much rather live…

"Umm…" Wybie gripped the key, and half held it out, but not far enough for the Beldam to reach it. Like he wanted to hand it over, but at the same time, he knew what the consequences of that were. Robbie gripped Coraline's arm tighter, and she gave a little whimper. He had one of those iron grips that would probably bruise, especially on her skinny arms.

Wybie held out the key…all Beldam had to do was take it. Robbie leaned forward with a little spark in his eyes, and reached out to take the key. Wybie winced as he felt it leave his grip, and Robbie just smiled, happy to have it in his possession again.

"Thankyou" he said, and Wybie just glared.

"Okay…now let me go" Coraline said, and Robbie paused, thoughtful, then pocketed the key.

"Nah. Come on, Coraline…back to the house"

"What!" Both Wybie and Coraline said it at the same time. "But- you promised!" she added.

"Again. I lied" Robbie gave Coraline a shove in the direction of the house, not letting go of her arm, only tightening his hold on it. She bit her lip, and tried to stand on his foot. He laughed.

"Now, you cut that out" he said, and she whimpered again as his grip on her arm got even worse, if possible. Wybie walked in front of them, as Robbie suggested he do, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Coraline was okay. He couldn't hear what he was whispering to her, but he could tell she didn't like it.

"…_You'll all get what you deserveses when we rise from underneath…_" The Beldam sang just loud enough for Coraline to make out the words, and she shivered.

~xXx~

**A/N; Oh Em Gee…**

**We are SO close to finishing, it's making me feel kinda sad…I'll miss all the Robbie bashing, and the Lester, and the Abbey. I mean, sure, they make a few cameos in 'Unstitchers', which you **_**all**_** must read, by the way. I'd be ever so grateful, as would my excruciatingly enthusiastic Beta/Shadow King, who has so kindly posted and added her own notes to one of my more recent chapters.**

**Another thing; CANDY-is-EPIC has made a deal with yours truly, which involves a new Coraline oneshot for every chapter she uploads of a once-dead fanfic she was writing. So, for all those (amazing, brilliant, lovely, excellent, wonderful, marvelous, superb, magnificent, splendid) people who have added me to Author Alert, I apologise in advance for spamming your inboxes with random oneshots. =S**

**At least they vary a bit, from Cat & Beldam, to Cat & Wybie, to Coraline & Wybie and, umm…just Cat, I think there was one…**

**Anywho.**

**Reviews make the world go round~  
I'd really like 100 before the end, which isn't far away. And if I **_**do**_** get 100, I'll cry.**

**No jokes, I will cry with happiness. **

**R&R  
Love to all**

**~KnutCase  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N; Second last chapter... *is freaking out***

Robbie forced Coraline to sit in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. She was crying angry tears, and watching him walk around the room as though nothing had ever happened. Like everything was normal. Wybie sat beside her, and he slipped his hand into hers. She squeezed it tight.

"So now what?" She asked angrily, and Robbie spun around as if he'd just realized they were there.

"Well, Coraline. I think I'm going to open up my door, rid myself of this infernal body and after that, I'm not sure…what do you think I should do?"

"Die" Coraline spat, and Robbie visibly winced.

"How dare you use such unkind words" he snapped.

And then he vanished. Coraline wanted to follow him, tear his arms off, and all that jazz, but she was rooted to the spot. No matter what, her legs wouldn't obey the commands her brain sent. Was this one of Beldams tricks? Or was she just too scared to move?

"Coraline? Are you okay?"

"Me? You're the one that's gonna die of a cold" she replied. He shrugged.

"I'll be fine"

They heard Robbie give a cry of joy from inside the other room, and Coraline felt a chill on the back of her neck. He must have unlocked the door, she thought. He came back into the kitchen with a delighted smile on his face.

"My _door_ is _open_ again, Coraline…isn't that _great_?"  
"Terrific" she replied sarcastically.

"Aren't you gonna come and see?" he asked, and Coraline hesitantly got to her feet, followed closely by Wybie. She heard his little intake of breath at the marvelous swirl of purple and blue colours that spilled out of the little entrance. Robbie smirked in satisfaction at this. The girl jumped when something brushed past her, but sighed with relief as Cat sat at her feet, looking up at Robbie with his icy stare.

"Oh. Hello _Vermin_" Robbie muttered, and Cat twitched his whiskers in reply.

…_Hag_

Beldam scowled in response, even though Cat hadn't actually said anything. He just purred. Coraline scooped the skinny creature up into her arms, holding him protectively against her chest.

"Leave Cat alone" she growled, and Robbie raised an eyebrow. Wybie was enthralled by the door, all the amazing colours, soft music…even the _smell._ Coraline hadn't noticed that enticing smell the first time around. It made her mouth water in a way that also made her feel sick to her stomach. Wybie couldn't help but take a step into the room to get a better look through the little tunnel. Maybe it was a new addition to lure children. Robbie smiled cheerfully.

"Would you like to look inside?" he asked Wybie, who gave a short nod. Coraline whipped around to face him, her expression one of pure horror.

"What? No! Wybourne, don't you _dare_-"

"Huh? Oh…right…sorry Jonesy" he moved quickly to stand at her shoulder with a sheepish smile. She gave him a look in reply, one that clearly said 'What _am_ I going to do with you?'

"Spoilsport" Robbie pouted, moving towards them.

"What now?" she asked, and he stopped walking.

"Well…in all honesty, I hadn't gotten this far…My door is open…I just have to dispose of this useless body-" he held up the hand that didn't work properly. It had taken a little while to get it useable, but it was still wrapped tightly in a bandage, and he was right handed now, as opposed to being left handed. "-somehow get my own back…then I can go about my business without your interference, I'm sure"

Coraline could feel Cat's heartbeat, through her jumper. She was experiencing some form of déjà vu, only with Robbie, not the Beldam in her own body. She'd thrown Cat at her…

She felt him tense up in her arms, as if her could read her mind and was saying 'Don't you _dare_ even _think_ of doing that…'

She smiled a little to herself, and stroked his thin back. Once he'd relaxed again, she took a timid step towards Robbie, who raised an eyebrow, then frowned in displeasure.

"I thought you didn't like this room?"

" 'Fool me once…'" she repeated his words from before, making his frown deepen. Then she threw the dark creature at him.

Either that, or he jumped out of her arms. For months on end, she would wonder what actually happened, but all she knew was that he landed with four paws squarely in Robbie's chest, and he stumbled backwards, hitting the empty fireplace. He fell to the ground with a growl, and pushed the cat off of him, eyes alight with fury. It happened almost in slow motion. Cat, Wybie and Coraline all watched with open mouths as the painting on the wall fell, and hit Robbie's head in just the right spot with a sick crack.

He swayed slightly on the spot for a moment, before slumping forward, unconscious. There was an awkward silence after that, in which Coraline picked up the painting.

"I always liked this boring blue boy" she said, unable to hide the smile in her voice, and on her face. She reached up on tiptoes, and set it back in place, then dropped to Robbie's side.

"She's gonna be really mad when she wakes up, Jonesy" Wybie said, sitting opposite her.

"We gotta get her out, though…now, while he's knocked out" she insisted. Cat was sniffing around Robbie's pockets.

"Well…where's the soul?" Wybie asked, and Cat gave a little mreow. The boy looked down, and noticed the marble-sized lump in that particular pocket.

"Jonesy, it's in there"

"So get it"

"But- Can't you?" he asked, and she tilted her head.

"Why can't you do it? It's on your side"

"Yeah, but I'm a _guy_, and it's just _weird…_" Wybie protested, and she laughed softly, and stuck her hand in the pocket. The little ball seemed to glow even more than it had before.

"…now what do we do with it?" she asked, and his expression turned blank. Cat stuck his head underneath Robbie's shoulder, and went through the motions of rolling him over.

Coraline understood almost immediately, and they rolled the teenager onto his back.

"Okay, Cat. Now what?" she asked, and he yawned, showing his little white teeth.

"In his mouth?" Wybie asked, and Cat blinked in confirmation. Coraline pulled Robbie's mouth open, and grimaced as she poked the little glowing ball down his throat.

They waited with baited breath, but nothing happened. Robbie just lay there. Just as Coraline was beginning to think they'd actually killed him, he coughed.

"Robbie?"

He coughed again. Then a bit more. It was a horrible cough, not a small one, but one of those coughs that you know are like sandpaper on the way up.

Then it wouldn't stop. Robbie sat up, his entire body racking with the effort it took for him to breathe properly. Coraline was rubbing his back in circles, face pale. Then he fell forward onto his hands and knees, retching. He coughed again, then vomited. Coraline pulled a face, cross between disgust and horror.

"Is that…?" Wybie asked, with a frown. Cat wrinkled his nose, and took a few steps backwards.

"I think it's blood…and…um…sawdust" she replied, a hand still on Robbie's back as he threw up again. Then he sat back, his eyes rolling back into his head. He looked at her through half lidded eyes.

"…Coraline?" he croaked, then he fell unconscious again.

The blue haired teenager lowered him to the floor, and looked at the mess of blood and sawdust on the hearth. Something caught the light from the window, and she gave a little scream in her throat, and backed away with wide eyes. She couldn't look at it, only got to her feet and stood just outside the door, leaning against the wall.

She slid to the floor as horrified tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Jonesy?" she heard Wybie call, his voice full of concern. She didn't answer, only heard the window snap shut.

"Coraline?" his voice was closer now, and she looked up to see him standing beside her. "S'okay…I got rid of it"

He had a little blood on his hands, from removing the needle, which he wiped on his jeans.

"Come on…it's gone, I promise you." he held out the other hand for her to take, which she did. He pulled her to her feet, then gave her a tight hug.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…um, sorry"

"Don't apologise" he berated her gently, and she nodded.

"Thanks"

"What are you guys doing?" they both looked up and saw Charlie. He had one headphone in his ear, and his ipod in his hand.

"Um…"

"I heard something in here, did you break something?"

"No, the picture fell down…it hit Robbie and he's unconscious"

"_What!_" he hissed, going into the drawing room.

"We were just coming to get you, Mr. Jones" Wybie offered, and Charlie nodded.

"Okay, well…let's just…um…" Robbie made a little noise of pain, and the older man looked at him. "Robbie? You there buddy?"

"…Where…?"

"Where does it hurt?"

"My…head?" he touched the spot tenderly, and Charlie nodded again. He looked up at Coraline.

"Call your mother, please. We'll take him to hospital, just in case"

As Coraline was dialing the number, she noticed that Wybie was shivering from the cold. She put the phone down.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine…why?"

"Your lips are blue"

"…warm them up?" he asked with a hopeful smile, and she smiled back, giving him a little peck on his cold lips. He grinned down at her, and she brought the phone up to her ear.

"Go get some clean clothes, you're not coming with us dripping wet" she ordered. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.

"Hey, mum, it's Coraline…"

~xXx~

Coraline was sitting in one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs by Robbie's bed, watching him sleep. He'd had a few tests, and the doctors had spoken to him, and now he was just resting. Charlie had gone home to get some spare clothes for Coraline, and to tell Mrs. Lovat not to worry, Wybie was with them. Mel was on the phone to Robbie's parents in Michigan, and Wybie had wandered away fifteen minutes ago to get her a drink, and hadn't managed to find his way back yet.

Cat was sitting in her lap (they hadn't brought him with them, and yet, here he was), asleep, his sides moving in and out as he breathed. She was effectively alone in this clean, strange smelling, empty room. Robbie stirred, and she looked away from the window.

"…Coraline?"

"Hey, Robbie…how're you feeling?"

"Is that really you?" he sat up slowly with a smile on his face.

"Yeah…"

"Wow…I haven't seen you in years…you look fantastic" he said, and she couldn't help but blush a little.

"Oh, thank you" The doctor had mentioned something about partial memory loss. Not much, a month max. There was a 50-50 chance the memories would come back.

"Doctor says I hit my head"  
"Yeah. A painting fell on you" she told him, pulling her chair closer.

"Oh. Were you there?" he asked, and she nodded.

"You've been staying at my house for a couple of weeks now…you don't remember?" She brushed her fingers across the back of his hand.

"…Have I? Aww, damn. So…I spent a few weeks with you in Oregon?"

"Yeah…you were meant to go home tomorrow" she told him with an apologetic smile. Cat leapt onto the bed, and curled up at Robbie's side.

"Hey there, kitty" The boy said, stroking the thin creatures back. "What's your name? Have you been feeding this little guy, Coraline? He's really skinny"

"Yes, he gets fed plenty. He just…looks like that" she replied with a smile. Cat flicked his ear.

"Oh, okay. Name?"  
"His name is Cat. Just Cat" she patted his head. Robbie's hand brushed hers, and he pulled it away with a shy smile.

"Um…sorry, but…during my stay…did I ask you out at all?" he inquired quietly.

She looked up at him, and returned his shy smile.

"You did, actually" she told him, pulling her feet up onto the chair.

"…What did you say?" She could hear the hopefulness in his voice, and she felt a little bad.

"I have a boyfriend already. I'm sorry Robbie"

"Oh" Robbie sounded disappointed, so she touched his hand, expression apologetic. "Well, that's okay. Just call me if you ever wanna go out, huh?"

"Yeah. I promise" she nodded. The door opened, and Wybie came in, holding two steaming cups. His expression showed how irritated he was.

"This place is huge, and there's too many rooms, and too many floors and too many- Oh, hey Robbie…you're awake"

"You're the boyfriend?" Robbie quizzed, not knowing who Wybie was.

"Um, yeah"

"Right. You look after her, you hear? Or I'll have to hurt you" he said in a lighthearted tone. Wybie grinned, and handed Coraline her hot chocolate.

"Course" he replied, sitting down beside her, threading his fingers through hers.

~xXx~

**A/N;**

***takes deep breath*  
Nearly there, guys…oh my god, this is the second last chapter. Say goodbye to Robbie, everyone, because you won't see him again. Lester and Abbey too.  
...Thankyou to CANDY-is-EPIC for her beta-ing and also for liking this chapter so much. I rather like it myself, I think it's my favorite so far, but I still have one to go, huh? Thankyou to everyone who has reviewed. You are my favorite trolls. *hugs you all***

**R&R  
See you for the last chapter…  
Stay Shiny xx  
****Buckets of Love**

**- Knut**

(PS; Go read the new Coraline oneshot by CANDY, coz it's THAT cute...)


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer; I don't own Coraline. Sadly. But I do hope you enjoyed what I could do with the characters. =]**

Coraline Jones had laid out her hideous gray uniform on her bed, making sure everything was still there. She had a terrible habit of losing, say one sock, or her jumper, or just one item of clothing. It always happened, every holidays. This time, it was her school shoes. She looked under her bed, but there was nothing under there, save for an old sketch book. They weren't in her wardrobe, and they weren't anywhere else in her room.

"Mum!" she yelled, leaning over the banister. "Have you seen my school shoes!"

"They've been at the front door all holidays, Coraline" her mother called back. "I've asked you _countless_ times to move them-"  
"Thanks mum!" she dashed down the stairs, and opened the door, just as Wybie pulled up on his bike.

"Afternoon, Jonesy" he said with a cheery grin.

"Oh, hey Wybie" she snatched up her shoes, and carried them up to her room muttering under her breath. Wybie wandered into the house, and shut the door with a quiet snap.

"Oh, hello Wybie"  
"Hi Mrs. Jonesy…Jones. Sorry….habit"

"That's alright, love. Would you like to stay for dinner? I just ordered pizza"

"Oh, um. That'd be great. Thankyou" Wybie replied, heading up the stairs. Mel nodded, and headed back into the kitchen, humming to herself.

"Hey Jonesy, what's up?" he asked, as he moved into her room. Coraline had fallen back onto her bed, like a starfish, and was staring up at the ceiling.

"…Coraline?"

"I don't _want_ to go to school tomorrow" she whined, and he sat on her computer chair with a chuckle.

"You, and the rest of the student body, I'm sure"

"These have been the worst holidays" she mumbled, and he frowned.

"Why? I thought we had a blast"

"Wybie…Beldam came back"

"You killed her"

"She almost killed Robbie"

"You saved Robbie"

"I experienced my first breakup"

"Not really. He lost his memory, and you never let him know you were dating" Wybie countered easily. She was getting frustrated with this game, he could tell.

"You killed Beldam this holidays, and you got your first kiss these holidays, and you started going out with me these holidays…so…was it really all that bad?"

"When you put it like that…yes, they were awful, specially the last part" she sat up with a giggle. Wybie pulled a face, like he was hurt, but trying not to laugh.

"I can leave if you want…I'll go find some other girl who actually _wants_ my attention…" He got up and made to leave.

"Noooo, Wybie come back!" she called after him with a laugh, and he stopped at the door.

"Why should I come back?"

"Because I want you to"

"Why do you want me to come back? You just said-"

"Because I love you?" The end went up, sounding like a question. He put his fingers to his chin, thinking it over. Then he grinned.

"Yeah…that's a good reason to stay" Wybie crossed the room as she flopped backwards again, sinking into her thick doona. He did the same, and they just stared at the crack in her ceiling for a while in silence. Coraline then rolled onto her side so she was facing him, and brought his face to hers for a kiss. He wound an arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him, effectively eliminating any space between them. She broke the kiss, and he sat up, propping himself up against the pillows.

Coraline wound her arms around his middle, and snuggled into his side, while he draped one arm casually around her shoulders, toying with a bit of her blue hair. They just sat there in silence, with little smiles on their faces.

"…I don't wanna go to school tomorrow" she repeated, and he smiled.

"Lets just stay here."

"…I'm okay with that" she replied, burying her face in his side. He shuffled around a bit, and after a while, she gave him a look expressing her annoyance.

"What?"  
"Stop moving. You're a terrible pillow" she told him, and Wybie grinned, poking her in the side. She squeaked, and sat on his stomach, but before she was able to tickle him, he caught both her wrists.

"Hah! Get out of that, if you can!" he cried, and Coraline opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off as her door swung open.

"Okay kiddies- Aww, man…again!" Charlie spun around, his hand flying to his forehead. "Do you only ever do this when I'm around, Coraline? You'll drive your father to an early grave…"

Coraline just snickered, while Wybie blushed a tiny bit, not daring to meet Charlie's gaze.

"Daddy, I'm a big girl now…" she told him, and Charlie looked as though there were a thousand things he wanted to say. He settled with 'The Pizza's here…'

Coraline allowed Wybie to sit up with a giggle, and slipped her hand into his. She dragged him out of her room, and down to the kitchen, where they sat side by side, and helped themselves to pizza.

"I just called the hospital" Mel started, sitting between Wybie and Charlie.

"Oh?" Coraline asked, through a mouthful of pizza.

"Don't talk with your mouth full. Yes, I did, and he'll be okay to go home in a few days. His memory's gone for now, but it might come back, they're not sure. Anyway. I want you to go say goodbye, and that you're sorry this happened"

"Why wouldn't I say goodbye?" Coraline asked, and Wybie grinned.

"I'm just saying. After school on Wednesday, you go say goodbye, understood?" Mel asked, and the teenager groaned.

"…school…ugh" she rested her chin on her hand. Mel just smiled.

"I'll be glad to be rid of you all…I don't think I could take it, having you lot running around all the time…"

"Thanks, mum" Coraline shot, sarcastically. Wybie snickered. They finished the pizza, and Coraline walked Wybie to the door.

"Well…I'll see you tomorrow, Jonesy" he said, leaning against the doorframe. She nodded, and he leaned down to give her a soft kiss goodnight. She smiled into it, and hugged him tightly around the middle.

"Yeah…don't be late" she told him firmly.

"When am I ever late?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"You're usually not. I'm just warning you"

"There's no need to warn me, because I'm never late!"

"I can hear someone calling you, Why-Were-You-Born"

"Whatever, Jonesy" he grinned, and she grinned back as he jumped on his bike. He saluted her, then vanished into the dark. She shut the door with a snap, then went up to her room, Cat trotting briskly at her heels.

**A/N**

**Oh my God, that's the end.  
There's no more Troll.**

**It makes me feel all…empty inside. =S  
I really hope that people don't stop reading and reviewing this just because it's finished. Because, there's nothing better than reviews after you've finished something. Now, onto the important stuff; **

**Special Thanks;**

**1. CANDY-is-EPIC, who not only beta'd, but was really quite helpful in giving me ideas, and motivation, and reviews too (Both verbal and written). ^^  
****Probably wouldn't be the same story without her. LUFF YOU MAMA BEAR~**

**2. Sah-mee-chan, who verbally reviewed every single chapter. And because she also helped out with ideas, and pressed the matter of throwing dear Robbie down the well, which I did do, to some extent. =] LUFF YOU BIG SISTER~**

**3. EVERYONE ELSE WHO REVIEWED! Oh my god, I can't believe I actually got **_**100**_** reviews…I almost cried, honest-to-god. I squealed. My mother thinks I'm crazy, but I did. ^^  
Thankyou to; (In no particular order, I luff you all…)**

**Suzette's Blue, Feeling-blue, Mimpy, Broken Angel 1816, Sesshy's Mate2012, Gatomon Fan7, Autumn Lovat, LEXIRENT97, Aliinna, Niveas, Zoeymcdowell, Destinyfey, ShadowManipulator7, TD-Fangirl, Shiona Acitiu, Unknown, WybiE'Z KiDnaPpeR, Frostpool, Cosplayer Mew (100****th**** Review!), Wicked Fred and Hermione 3, Mika, kitty-kat-girlyyy xxx, Jenny 262, The Mortician's Daughter and Claudia Harris. **

**I love you guys that much. Really.  
First, I'll give you e-cookies, and cake (Real cake, not lie-cake), and coke, and roses with black ribbons tied around them, and energy drinks and play stations, and lots of DVDs, and lots of love, and lots and lots and lots of lollies, and some lamingtons, and some new shoes and then we'll all dress up and have a big party and there'll be lots of loud music and stuff and then…  
And then…**

…_**And then the cage comes down!**_

**Stay Shiny xx  
****Love for ever more.  
****Until Unstitchers (Which is now posted as I type this, under KnutCANDY)**

**KnutCase xx **


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